Two Weeks
by ps01032160198913
Summary: She asked for a distraction and he was it. A distraction. What an understatement.
1. Chapter 1

_"There's no need for you to be worried - that I can assure you. All I'm asking for is some time alone, some time to think by myself, something to distract me from what had happened the last few weeks. I hope you understand that this isn't about you or anybody, not even cold feet. I need this, so please don't go looking for me. I love you. Don't ever doubt that. - Aria."_

Aria sighed deeply as she looked out the window. She had the corner room that allowed her to see the open intersection. It was a nice view, the scorching dry streets colored with yellow cabs and endless pedestrians. A summer in New York city - the perfect distraction.

She didn't know exactly what she wanted to do first or if she wanted to do anything at all. She had hoped everything would just fall into place. The more she reminded herself about being distracted, the more it made her remember about what had happened back in Rosewood.

_Ella covered her eyes as she talked to someone on the phone, her back turned to her daughter._

_Walking into the room, she watched Ella speaking, "Mom?" Aria finally said, furrowing her brow. Ella slowly turned and Aria knew right then that she had been crying, "What happened?" Aria asked, immediately walking to her with arms ready for comforting._

With a halt, Aria took a couple of steps back to re-read the posting on the window:

"Summer cooking class! Walk-ins or schedules. From 6:00pm to 8:30pm. ($40 per session)."

Arching her eyebrows, Aria walked in. Perhaps following orders from a stranger would do the trick plus her cooking needed some brushing up.

"Welcome!" The man greeted her by raising his hands in excitement. Aria smiled in return, assuming this was the instructor based on his all-white outfit including his very typical chef hat, "You can go ahead and take the spot next to Allie." He said and pointed at the woman who was busy chopping up some vegetables.

The place was spacious and everything was silver; the tables, the refrigerators in the back, the sinks, even the pans and utensils.

With the chef commanding the class, Aria and Allie worked together by organizing the chopped food into separate areas.

The chef clapped twice, calling all their attention. He instructed them to clean up as he gestured for the ziplock bags, showing them to put the vegetables in it. A few moments later, people were hanging their aprons back on the wall before leaving.

Aria headed out and continued to walk down the sidewalk. The skies were beginning to turn in and the sun was gradually setting, but not dark enough for the lamp posts to be on.

She felt a hand lightly grabbing her arm, forcing her turn around.

"Hey…" He greeted with a genuine smile on his face.

She arched her brows, doing a double take to make sure, "Ezra?" She finally said, her eyes slightly widened, "Were you—" She glanced back at the place, stopping in her track.

"Yeah, I was in the class." Ezra finished her sentence as he caught up beside her. He began to walk and she inevitably followed along, "I saw you walked in."

Aria slowly shook her head in disbelief, "Unbelievable." She exhaled sharply, "Why didn't you say anything?"

He slowed his pace then finally settled walking right next to her, "I was on the opposite side of the room. Couldn't exactly walk up to you in the middle of a class." He grinned making her grin as well, "Looked like you were very into it too." He said flashing another smile.

Shaking her head playfully, "It was okay. I didn't know the session was all about gourmet food. It's not exactly what I would go for…"

"Well, how about we go get real food this time?" He asked, his hands inside his pockets, "If you're not busy."

"No." She answered quickly and looked up at his surprised facial expression, "I mean, no, I'm not busy." She swallowed hard and gave a nervous smile.

It wasn't sinking in yet. Aria casually stole a few glances at him whenever he looked away as a way to memorize his face. The last time she saw him was a little over six years ago, back in Rosewood. They had ended in a mutual defeat; both agreeing to give up in order to avoid the risk that their relationship came with. And a week later, she had discovered that he moved back to his hometown, back in the ever so lively city. But even with their distance, there was always something that lingered between them. She had forgotten about it until now. Whatever _it_ was.

This astonished her, seeing him out of the blue, seeing his face. It was almost the same as it was back then, but with a little more lines around his eyes. But overall, the years had done him well. He had a light scruffy beard going on, his hair grew a little longer with a little curl that dangled right in the center of his forehead, but what seemed different was his energy. He seemed more at ease and carefree. She wondered if it was the city that caused him to be like this, after all, Rosewood was the polar opposite of Manhattan.

"This is real food…" Aria commented with skepticism in her tone, squinting at him and the hot dogs in his hand.

He chuckled as he handed her one, "As real as it can get." They started walking with the streetlights leading their way, "See, one of the biggest mistakes you could ever make in New York is ignoring the hot dog stands."

"I've never tried one before." She shrugged, 'I've always thought them to be unsanitary."

"A hot dog?" He turned to her, almost shocked.

"From a stand."

"Ah." He nodded, "Well, there's a first time for everything." He told her.

Aria gazed at him for quite some time and he tilted his head to the side, offering her a small smile, an assuring smile that told her that everything was going to be just fine. Aria glanced at the hot dog before finally taking a bite out of it.

The night fell almost too quickly. Ezra licked his lips as he watched her finish her food. He noticed that she grew a bit taller, maybe a few inches, and the way her eyes flickered now and then almost showed how much she had aged. Even more so with the way she moved and talked, she was a lot more cautious about it. They had grown in different aspects, it was as if they had switched roles.

"So, what exactly are you doing here in the city? I've been meaning to ask." Ezra questioned as soon as she finished the food in her mouth. They continued to stroll around the city, nowhere in particular.

"Just needed to get away from Rosewood." She said with a very indifferent tone.

"I'm assuming you're here alone then." He said and saw her nodding as a response to his comment, "Why?"

She shrugged lightly, "Because…I needed to clear my head."

"What for?" He continued, putting his hands back inside his pockets again.

Keeping her eyes on the sidewalk, Aria pressed her lips.

_Aria huffed angrily, "Pick up the phone, damn it." She said grumbling under her breath._

_She took a seat and covered her face in frustration. Everything took her by surprise and crying wouldn't do anybody good especially not for Ella._

_"Hey, hey, I got your message. I got here as fast as I could." He quickly walked up to her as she stood up to hug him._

_"Zach." Pressing her face against his shoulder, Aria gripping his shirt, "Mike's in the emergency room." She pulled away._

_"Is Byron alright?" Tearing up, Aria shook her head, a frown taking over her mouth. Zach heaved a sigh and pulled her in for another embrace, "It's okay. It'll be okay." He said, tightening his arms around her petite body._

_She nodded, smelling his scent that was mixed with alcohol._

"I'm sorry." Ezra replied, "I didn't mean to pry."

"…Yes, you did." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her lips curling into another smile and noticed he was smiling too.

"So, how's Ella doing?"

"You'd be surprised how stronger she is when it comes to these types of things." Aria said, "Luckily for us, we're better off coping on our own." She bit her lip and looked ahead, seeing nothing but empty streets, "Where are we going?"

"I have no idea." He paused for a second, took a glance around him, "Alright, we should probably head back."

It took a few minutes to hail a cab especially on a busy Friday night, but they didn't mind the wait. It gave them more chance to catch up on each other's life. Ezra had learned about Aria's English degree and that she was staying in Holiday Inn tonight.

"Do you still teach?" Aria asked as the cab driver turned on the radio, minding his own business.

Ezra scratched his knee, "Of course. On the upper east side."

"Sounds wonderful."

"It's decent." He agreed, "And private. An all-boys school." He informed her.

Aria made a face, "Was that a personal choice or plainly business?"

"I think we're here?" He said looking out the window, ignoring her question, "Is this the one?" He turned to Aria. The cab slowly stopped to a halt right in front of the hotel. "I'll be just a sec." Ezra told the driver as Aria waited for him in front of the hotel door.

For a moment, they didn't say anything to each other and they both realized that they weren't ready to end the night just yet. Aria let out a deep breath.

They sat on the bar stools as the hotel bartender placed another round of drinks in front of them. Aside from the two of them, the bar lounge was completely deserted which was a bit surprising since it was only 11 o'clock and this was supposed to be the city that never sleeps.

"How long are you staying here for?" Ezra asked, touching the perspiring glass in front of him. It felt strange and new having drinks with her. He never would have imagined this, not even while he was still in Rosewood. But he reminded himself that she was older now and there was nothing restricting her from doing anything anymore. It would just take him a little while to get used to that.

With a sigh, Aria slowly spun in her chair, "I haven't decided yet."

"A few weeks?"

She looked at him questioningly, "I'm not sure, Ezra. Why?"

"I don't expect you to remember the date, but the birthday's soon." He flashed a quick shy smile, "And since you're here…"

Letting out a small gasp, Aria beamed with joy, "Yeah." She nodded and flashed a wide smile, "Yeah, I think I'll still be here."

The bartender walked up to them, wiped the counter then cleared his throat, "We're closing up in a couple of minutes." He offered a polite smile.

Ezra and Aria nodded simultaneously at him and emptied their glass.

The only sound that was made was coming from Aria's purse, her keys jangling inside. Ezra kept a fair distance behind her as he walked her up to her room in silence. He felt warmer than before perhaps from the alcohol or from everything that occurred today with her and that the alcohol was just a small factor of it.

Finally, Aria took the hotel room card and swiped it on the machine, opening the door instantaneously. She kept the door open and turned to face Ezra.

"This is where you say you had a nice time, right?" Ezra jested and smirked, "Or at least pretend that you did so I can go back home with my ego still intact."

Chuckling, Aria nodded along, "But I did have a nice time. No pretending here." She licked her lips, "Thank you."

"My pleasure." He stared at her and scanned her face with her mouth agape, her eyes sleepy and anxious at the same time, and her breathing was faint enough for him to still hear.

Ezra advanced forward, gingerly grabbing the sides of her face and planted a small kiss on her lips.

Holding both of his hands, Aria stepped back, shutting her eyes for a moment, "I can't." She let go of his hands and gazed up at him, "I'm with someone else."

Tilting his head to the side, Ezra smiled softly, "I _am_ someone else." He pointed out. But there was something that struck him once she said it. He didn't want to focus on it, fearing it would end in an embarrassment or something worse such as losing this new friendship he had with her. He was willing to ignore it, that pang right between his lungs, that drive that was putting him on edge, telling him to kiss her again and take control. But he ignored it easily, he was good at that.

Rolling her eyes at him, Aria grinned, "Goodnight, Ezra."

"I'll see you in class tomorrow?" He asked with a hopeful look plastered on his face.

She chuckled, "Never thought I'd hear you say that again."

"Same here. At least not to you." He moved back, "Goodnight." Ezra waved once and quickly turned to leave.

Aria watched him as he reached the elevator and a few seconds later, he was gone. She leaned her head against the door jamb and stayed like this for a while, replaying the things in her head.

She asked for a distraction and he was it. A distraction. What an understatement.


	2. Chapter 2

He put his palms together as he sat across from Ella. He hated this, this state of being kept in the dark especially about his own significant other. He brought up his hand to his forehead, wiping it, "She didn't tell you anything? Anything at all?"

Ella calmly shook her head at him, "Just leave it alone…"

"Don't I have the right to be worried?" He got up from his seat, putting his hands on his waist.

"I know my own daughter. She's not the kind who would do anything remotely brash." She explained, "And do you think she'd want you to find her?"

Looking down at her, Zach sighed heavily, "What am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for her pop back up?"

"Doesn't seem like you have any other choice." Ella answered as she stood up, turning around to leave.

She had other things to worry about and hearing Zach stress over something harmless wasn't one of them although deep down, she was glad that he cared for her daughter and that Aria had found someone like him.

The dark make up brought out her huge green eyes. Aria slowly licked her upper lip as she finished applying some mascara on the other eye. She blinked lightly and looked at the mirror, seeing her flushed face. She shook her head at herself, disappointed for some reason.

Seeing the clock behind her, Aria cursed under her breath and quickly moved to her bed to slip on her summer dress.

Aria held onto her purse at her side as she hurriedly walked through the streets. She was going to be late for the session so she tried her best to get there as quickly as possible so she can cook with Ezra this time.

As she turned the corner, she immediately spotted Ezra standing right outside the shop, leaning against the glass window with one leg.

"Hello." Aria greeted with a calm smile as Ezra swiftly pushed himself up to face her.

He smiled back, "Finally." He joked, "You almost made me believe you weren't coming."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because we are—" He checked his watch, "15 minutes late." He smacked his lips together.

"You didn't have wait for me." She told him, displaying an apologetic smile.

"Right, but I didn't want to be partnered up with Gary again." He said confusing her a bit, "He's sort of a deadbeat."

She grinned, "That's not very nice."

"Then you go with him." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"No!" Aria replied within a split-second.

Ezra laughed and grabbed the door open, "After you."

They listened attentively to their chef who held a handkerchief in front of them, explaining the assignment. He paired everyone up with their opposite sex. The assignment was a way to test their sense of taste; to prove that girls, according to studies, did in fact have superior taste buds than boys. The chef went around, handing each table a handkerchief.

"Ready to be proven wrong?" Ezra said with a smug look on his face as he folded the fabric in half.

She glared, "Just blindfold me." She said, standing still with closed eyes.

They stood inches apart. Aria waited as Ezra took a teaspoon of cinnamon which was probably the easiest one to guess.

"Alright." He warned her and took a closer step, "Here it goes."

Aria opened her mouth a little bit and ultimately took in the secret ingredient, "Hmm." She let out slowly, "Too easy. Cinnamon."

"We were instructed to describe the taste and you're not doing it." He reminded her.

"It tastes like cinnamon." She snapped at him.

"Fine. Alright, next one is coming." He reached for the little bowl of powdered cumin and took a small amount of it, "I personally think this is harder to guess. If you get it right, I might just take you out to a real dinner tonight."

"Real dinner, huh? You mean corn dogs this time?" She remarked with a teasing grin.

He let out a mocking laugh, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." She nodded and opened her mouth again. Ezra stared at her pouty lips. What he would do to kiss them again. Aria cocked her eyebrow, "Hello?"

He pressed his lips together, restraining himself and slowly fed her, "How is it?" He asked as she carefully took her time analyzing the taste.

"It's sort of…nutty." She moved her head to the side, "Umm…" She lowered her eyebrows, "I know this, I swear! It has a warm taste to it."

"Warm, huh?" Ezra repeated, still watching her lips move. She looked familiar all of sudden. Her enthusiasm reflected her old self, the one he used to know, her child-like energy at the moment brought him a few years back.

"I know this." She finally said, "I know it, I swear." She went on, shaking her head.

"Go on." He glanced up at the others around them and saw them taking off their blindfolds, "We gotta clean up."

"Tell me what it is first."

"Well, what was your guess?"

"…Nutmeg?"

"Shit." He coughed up a chuckle and reached out to untie her blindfold, "I owe you a dinner."

Aria lit up, smiling proudly, and skimmed their table with the spices spread out in bowls then back at him, "I got it right?"

As a small grin played across his lips, Ezra looked at her and simply nodded, "You're an expert."

The car stopped as the red light changed before them. Ezra let go of the wheel and reached for the AC button, turning it on.

What was nice about their interaction was how little they needed it. They could sit there and not say a word and still feel comfortable. That certain comfort zone took ages to attain, but only took so little to lose. She was thankful that she never lost it with Ezra.

Aria looked at him as he stepped on the gas, paying full attention to the road, "Are you gonna tell me where we're going?"

He glanced at her, "We'll be there soon." He smiled almost too slyly and finally took a left turn.

Gazing at the night sky, Aria got out of the car and looked around the buildings.

Ezra went around his car with his keys in his hands, "This way." He told her and ambled toward the other building.

"I should have known." She said as he opened the door to his loft and welcomed her in.

The high ceiling gave the place an enormous illusion of free space, the floor was wooden and smooth, and right across the room, there were three huge windows right next to each other that allowed the moonlight to shine through the place, providing its own natural light.

What caught her attention was the white huge bed near the tri-windows and how it was pushed against the exposed brick wall. It was stunning to witness. Especially how open the bedroom was, it was inviting and alluring and all Aria wanted to do was to walk over there and feel how soft the mattress was.

"I'm not that predictable, am I?" He said as he closed the door behind him. He watched her observing his place, he exhaled softly, "You've tainted my place."

Aria scoffed and turned to him, "I've been here for three seconds." She wrinkled her face at him.

"Okay, okay, tainted may have been a little harsh of a word, but…you've changed the feel of it. Just you being here."

Crossing her arms above her chest, Aria clicked her tongue at him, "Well, I didn't ask to be here, did I?"

"I didn't say I didn't like it." He playfully jutted his chin at her and headed to the kitchen.

The pan sizzled in the background along with the knife rhythmically hitting the wooden board. Aria stayed next to him, leaning against the counter providing small talk as he cut some potatoes.

"How long have you had this place?" She inquired, focusing down at him.

"A few years now."

She wet her lips and fixed her gaze on him, "It's breathtaking." She complimented.

"Thank you." He looked up at her, holding her gaze for a moment.

She cut another piece of the steak, "Tell me again why you're not the one teaching us in cooking class." She said making him laugh.

"Because steak and potatoes are the only two things I can actually cook."

"Oh, so is that why you've decided to sign up for a cooking class?"

"At first, yes."

She tilted her head questioningly, "But…" She squinted, holding off the steak to the side.

"But nothing." He said, forcing a smile, and stuffing his mouth with sweet potatoes.

Ezra left her in the living room, telling her to make herself feel at home while he changed his clothes. He had been wanting to slip into something more comfortable rather than spending the whole night in his jeans.

Meanwhile, Aria was comfortable enough to stretch her legs across the couch which was perfectly sized for her height. She glanced back to check for him, but it didn't seem like he was ready to come back out yet so she grabbed her purse and checked her phone. She sighed as she saw a bunch of missed calls and texts from him.

Looking up cautiously, Aria turned her attention back to the phone and played the most recent voicemail.

_Rubbing his eyes, Zach checked the clock as he waited for the phone to be picked up. He was sitting up on the edge of the bed, trying to reach her for the last time. The phone beeped and led him to the answering machine._

_He sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Please, just answer me, text me, whatever me…I just need to hear from you. Tell me you're okay so I can sleep tonight. I love you. Don't ever doubt that."_

_Zach looked at the phone and switched it off, throwing it on the other side of the bed._

"Is the _someone else_ checking up on you?" Ezra ambled his way to her. He wore his pajamas and his worn out white tee shirt.

Aria shot him a look and put her phone away, "Do you have something against that?" She closed her purse and placed it on the other end of the couch.

He shrugged and joined her, lifting her leg and putting it over his thighs, "What's he like? Is he funny? He can't be as good-looking as me so I'll give him funny." He teased.

"I'm not gonna talk about him with you." She said solidly.

"Okay." He read her face and knew best not to press on if he wanted to keep the night going, "Sounds good to me." He smiled at her, trying to change her soon-to-be bitter mood. He reached for her foot as she leaned her head back on the couch.

"What's _she_ like?" She asked, staring at the ceiling.

Ezra softly pulled her toes one by one and went down to the sole of her feet then back up, massaging it lightly, "Nonexistent." He said, grinning once again.

Lifting her head up, Aria looked at him and tried to figure out what he was thinking now, "How is that possible?"

"How is what possible?"

"Someone like you without anybody." She said, still looking at him. The feel of his fingers rubbing the bottom of her feet was heavenly. Then very carefully, she felt his fingertips hovering against her leg slowly making its way up her thigh.

"Who said I'm not with anybody?" He said, his voice dropping a few octaves. He followed his traveling and curious fingers with his eyes.

Aria breathed heavily and took his hand, stopping it from going any farther, "You know I can't."

He let out a quiet laugh. She felt like a challenge and he wasn't willing to turn back down that easily. He was aware of what he was being and what this was going to do to her man, but she was here and that had to mean something.

Ezra smoothly moved closer to her and within a second, he was just inches away from her face. He touched the bottom of her chin, tipping it up, "I know you can't." And now, he held up her chin with his index finger and his thumb, kissing her tenderly.

As he finished kissing her, her hands went up to his chest defensively. Aria shook her head moving her face away from him, "No." She sighed, "I need to go. I really should go."

Ezra felt her legs slipping off of his and she got up in one fluid motion, "I'll drop you off." He offered.

"No." She replied quickly, "I'd rather you not." Aria cleared her throat and tried her best to stop herself from breathing heavily, "I'll get a cab." She softly said as she turned away.

He finally got up and walked after, "Aria." He said as she rushed for the door, "Aria…"

The door slammed and Ezra stopped moving, his hand balling up into a tight fist.

Aria ran her hand through her hair, power walking towards the stairs. She crossed her arms and realized what she had done wrong, "Shit." She whispered, "Shit. Shit." She looked at her arm where her purse was supposed to be at all times. She shut her eyes and hated herself even more.

He clenched his jaw, angry at himself for pulling such a stunt on her. Ezra rubbed his temples and as soon as he was about to go back to the living room, a knock on door interrupted him.

Swinging the door wide open, Ezra stared at her. He clenched his jaw once again, calming himself down.

"My purse." She swallowed hard and looked at him straight in the eyes.

He nodded once and took a couple of steps back, giving her a small space. Aria took her first step in and in a flash, Ezra pulled her in and lifted her off the floor while pressing his lips on hers. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as her hands went up to his face, compelled to hold onto him as he slammed her hard against the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**_You are all absolutely amazing. Thank you for reading. :) - Queen_**

* * *

_"I would never. I could never." Zach whispered as she snuggled up to him, "I promise."_

_Aria gave a sleepy smile, "You can't say that if you've never been tempted."_

_He lifted his head to look at her, "They could tempt me a thousand times and it wouldn't matter." He assured her, "I love you. Don't ever doubt that."_

_It was their saying, their safe word in a way. They had recited it so many times that it became almost just one big word rather than a string of them, and if even just a word got lost in the middle of it, the two of them would notice the change in a second. Aria looked up at him, feeling secured._

_He had these mesmerizing blue eyes that matched well with his blonde hair. People often judged him to be the type who worked for the public, with the cameras and the spotlight. But he was the opposite of that. He didn't yearn for attention, hated being it as a matter of fact. He was a fond of thinking and silence, and sometimes sports. Aria had a thing for writers, that she figured out in her earlier years, and Zach was poignant in his own ways. This was evident in all of his writings and with the way he talked to her._

Aria felt the soft sheet against her cheek, her eyes fluttered open and right in front of her was the huge window with the light going through it. She groggily scanned the place and realized what it was, where she was and remembered what had happened. She could feel her stomach dropping all of a sudden.

_With her body pressed against the door and the wall, Aria gripped his shoulder hoping to hurt him but it didn't seem to work. Ezra continued to kiss her neck as his hands pulled on her dress._

_Aria shook her head, "Ezra. Stop." She held the side of his face as she looked up, feeling his warm breath against her neck. She felt her body battling her own mind and she let herself be pulled by whichever was stronger at the moment and with Ezra being there, her head was quickly losing, "Stop. I can't."_

_Finally, he pulled his face away from her and looked up at her, catching his breath._

_With her furrowed brow, Aria bit her lower lip and stared at him, still holding his face as his soft green eyes pleaded for something. She saw more than a guy trying to get his way, she saw a lot more than him. She saw Rosewood and her younger self with him. Aria felt herself falling back to the old years where he was the only one that seemed right for her at that time, but what got to her was seeing him now and remembering the things they had missed out on because of some poor circumstances. As he stared on, Aria could picture the little moments she had with him and what she would have wanted to have, but never had the chance to. And this, right this second, was one of the those moments._

_"Shit." She closed her eyes and pulled him to her, kissing him back this time. She paused and tugged on his shirt, trying to pull it over his head. Ezra smiled and kept her supported against the wall as he took the shirt off on his own. Aria pulled him closer, leaning down to plant another kiss while her foot pushed down on his pants. She let out a small gasp as his cold hand slipped inside her dress, effortlessly pulling down her panties._

_Aria moved her head to the side and shut her eyes while Ezra worked on his pajamas. She felt his hands gripping both of her thighs, causing her to be short of breath. Ezra caught his breath and pressed his head against her collarbone. He moved his head back, tipping it up to watch her face. Slowly retrieving herself, Aria turned to look at him, leaning down to kiss him again as she pulled on his hair. Ezra finally made his move causing her to cry out softly against his mouth. Turning away, Aria bit down on her lips and helplessly pressed her hand against the wall as he continued on._

_She felt herself losing everything she had back in Rosewood, her promises she made for him slowly dissolving into thin sinister air. Aria opened her eyes and looked at Ezra, moving her lips to kiss him once again, seeing and feeling everything coming undone._

"Good morning." He greeted, hearing her footsteps behind him. He put down two plates on the table and wiped his hands, finally approaching her.

"I'm gonna go." She said, holding her purse to her side.

"Wait." Ezra stepped back, blocking her way, "Wait a minute." He held up his hand, "Have some breakfast first." He said gesturing at the chair behind her while she rolled her head to the side, looking at him in disbelief, "Come on, you shouldn't run on an empty stomach." He smiled.

Aria heaved a soft sigh and turned around, taking a seat, "Okay."

Ezra smiled to himself and followed her. He stood behind her and bent down, his face just right next to hers, "It's just sex, Aria." He told her almost in a whisper.

"Yeah." Aria swallowed hard and carefully turned to see his face, "I know."

He leaned closer and kissed her forehead before taking his seat just across from her.

He rolled up his sleeves and entered the house. He saw Ella sitting alone, drinking from her coffee mug and reading something. She held her head up and saw him.

Approaching her, Zach cleared his throat, "I apologize for yesterday." He said to Ella. He joined her in the living room, "I didn't mean to talk to you that way."

Ella smiled, "There's nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart." She walked around the house with a coffee mug in her hand, "I know how you must be feeling right now."

"Can I take you out to lunch?" He asked gesturing with his hand.

She could sense his nervousness so she smiled again to show him that she wasn't upset at all, "Sure. I think we both need it." She added.

The day was going by slowly and they had no plans since the class was closed on Sundays. This was going to be their lazy Sunday. It felt like Rosewood all over again. Ezra sat on his bed as Aria dressed herself with one of his shirts.

"I need to go back to the hotel." She said, looking at the mirror in front of her where she could see Ezra staring back.

"Yeah and I think you should pack up." He suggested, "And stay here. To save money rather than throwing 200 bucks every night."

Turning around, Aria chuckled, "Right…because you're so worried about my fiscal situation."

"We're in a recession." He added, smiling charmingly at her through the mirror.

She approached the bed and stood before him, "Don't you ever have work?"

Ezra grabbed a hold of her hips, pulling her in with him, "This _is_ work." He said while Aria held his hands, trying to keep her stance.

"I'm serious." She said.

He licked her lips and let go of her, "When I'm not teaching, I work at the library, but fortunately, today is my day off."

"And that is somehow holding this place up?" She gestured at the nice loft and looked at him, still having her doubts.

"Since when did _you _get so worried about _my_ fiscal situation?"

"Ever since you started worrying about mine." She snapped back.

He raised his eyebrows and let out a sigh, "I do a little side job now and then."

She squinted, "Which is…"

"Freelance writing."

She beamed at him, "Like…"

"Like freelance writing." He said, propping himself up on the bed with his arms, "Come here."

Aria crossed her arms above her chest, "What kind of writing?"

"I write cards." He finally revealed, groaning, "For Hallmark." He huffed and fell into the bed as Aria started to laugh.

"Goodness." She let out, "You are a part of the corporation." She remarked, a chuckle still coming out of her mouth.

He gave an apathetic look, "Pays well." He said carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"Pays well to make gullible buyers believe in words writers make up so businessmen can profit from the less imaginative people?" She scrunched up her face and stood over him, still poking fun at this whole discovery.

Ezra raised himself up and put his index finger on the tip of his nose as he pointed at her, making her flash a shameful smile.

Surprisingly enough, she realized that she had not done this in a while ever since meeting Zach. People hovered the front entrance, some waiting in line, and some being allowed to walk in without being questioned.

Pulling her along, Ezra walked up to a stocky guard and gave him a head nod.

"Sunday, man?" The bouncer pointed out. Aria watched them, bouncing back and forth and came to the conclusion that the two men knew each other.

"I've got a tourist." He explained, gesturing to Aria, "Are they here yet?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, about an hour ago." The bouncer responded, "Welcome." He grinned at Aria and finally let them in.

They squeezed through the crowd. The music was blasting, deafening the people who cared very little of their surrounding. The lights danced and changed different colors. It was dark so Ezra tugged her hand and kept her close as they headed to the back of the club.

"Where we goin'?" Aria shouted over the noise, but he kept walking, failing to hear her.

A moment later, he arrived at a table with another couple sitting down and talking intimately with drinks in their hands.

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" Ezra shouted at the man who looked up and gestured for them to sit down. Shouting seemed to be the only way they could communicate. The beat and the bass of the music were so loud that their table was shaking.

"Hello there!" The man shouted back, putting the drink on the table to free his hand.

Ezra's hand slipped around Aria's waist, allowing her to sit first. He then took his seat and leaned in to talk to him, "My old friend, Aria."

"Pleased to meet you!" The man said to her, offering his hand, "I'm Wren!" He pointed his hand at the woman next to him, "This is Melissa, my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you!" Aria shook his hand, "Hi." She smiled sheepishly at Melissa who simply gave her a friendly smile.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Melissa announced, "Come with me." She said to Aria and stood up without waiting for her response. She had a very lucrative feel about her. She was dominating and what was even more intimidating was that she was aware of it. Aria was a bit taken aback by this.

Ezra and Wren made a face and watched them disappear into the crowd. They knew Melissa and they knew she was going to shake Aria down a bit.

"Well, she's in a friendly mood." Ezra said sarcastically as he took one of the drinks on the table.

"Because she's got a hold of some tonight." Wren started and chuckled.

For a second, Ezra looked alarmed, "Aria's with her."

Putting his hand up, "Relax. Melissa isn't so good with sharing." He reassured him, "Your friend. What a face on her, yeah?"

Chuckling, Ezra raised his eyebrow as an acquiesce, "Tell me about it." Staring at him, Wren had the detective expression on his face, his eyes glazed over and his mouth was half-puckered, a look that Ezra knew very well, "What? Don't start that, man."

The bathroom was a lot cleaner inside and the music was muffled. People could actually speak in low volume in here. There were a few girls around, talking and checking themselves in the mirror.

Melissa went into one of the stalls as Aria approached the sink, checking if her make-up was still decent.

"Did I hear him call you old friend?" Melissa asked casually. She reached in her pocket, taking out a very small clear plastic bag with white substance inside.

Her eyes danced for a moment, "Yeah, he's a friend of mine." She looked at her reflection on the mirror. Somehow, she saw guilt in her eyes.

"Oh?…" Melissa pressed on. She rubbed her nose and sniffled for a second, letting it do the work.

"We met in Rosewood."

"Rosewood?"

"Where I'm from. It's in Pennsylvania." Aria elaborated.

"I see." Melissa cleared her throat and opened the stall, "So, old friends?" She said, bringing it back.

Aria wondered if this was usual; some stranger she met literally just a minute ago asking about her personal life. It must have been a New Yorker thing to do. She forced a smile and continued to wash her hands with cold water.

"Is she with you?" Wren kept his eyes on his long time friend.

"She is right now."

Wren licked his lips and leaned in closer, "Is she with you?" He repeated and waited for his answer. After a long pause, Wren shook his head at him, "C'mon, mate. You know better than that."

Glaring, Ezra took a full swig of whatever he was drinking, "He's not around." He leaned back, "And you're in absolutely no position to tell me what's good and what's not."

"Whatever." Wren leaned back, copying him, "She seems lovely. I'll give you that."

"She's fucking wonderful." He added and they shared a look. Wren grinned and started to laugh.

It was a hassle trying to get in the middle of the floor. People shoved and brushed against each other as they relentlessly moved and danced with anybody near their perimeters.

The four of them went together and were forced to dispersed by the people around them. Aria felt like she was being pushed by strong currents. She really was out of touch with this so she shut her eyes for a moment, dancing and freeing herself, not caring where she was anymore.

Someone grabbed her, pulling her away from the center of the floor. Aria opened her eyes and saw Wren smiling down at her.

"Hiya." He said, dancing along with the music, "How are you?" He leaned into her ear.

Aria smiled and tried to be in tempo with him, "You're English!" She replied and pressed her lips for a second, a bit embarrassed of her comment.

"So you've noticed!" Wren jested, "Why don't you come with me? I'll show you something. It'll be fun." He said, touching her neck for a moment as he went on whispering something in her ear.

Before she could say anything, Ezra's hands crawled at her side, pulling her back. The three of them danced nonstop as their conversation went on.

"Not this one, buddy." Ezra cut in, giving him a half-smile. Wren grinned and shook his head disappointingly at his friend. He slowly moved into the background along with the rest of the people, meeting up with Melissa on the other side of the floor.

Aria turned around and faced Ezra, "What was that about?" She questioned, tiptoeing a bit.

With his hands around her body, he shook his head and moved closer to her, "Don't worry about it." He pulled her even closer, brushing his body against hers.

Shrugging it off, Aria turned her back to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her head leaning back and resting on his shoulder as they moved in perfect sync.


	4. Chapter 4

She kicked off her heels while he held her lower back, kissing and walking blindly toward the bedroom. They were buzzed and smelled completely of alcohol and sweat. She never knew she would miss being like this, so unattached and social all in one night. It was interesting meeting his friends that weren't his colleagues for the very first time. It gave her a peek of what he was truly like outside work and seeing Wren and Melissa, she found a part of Ezra's personality; fun yet protective. She enjoyed learning these things and being this way. Being with him while she was with someone else was a different story.

Shortly after, they reached the low bed and fell together; a short, drunken laugh coming deep from their throats.

"Hold on." Ezra mumbled as he reached for something under the bed. Aria looked up and saw something she had never seen before.

Pressing the button on the side, Ezra directed his head to the side, looking up. The curtains slowly rolled down from the ceiling and ultimately created a border made of white fabric between the bedroom and the living room, creating its own private intimacy. He turned to Aria who was in complete awe, he smiled and kissed her slightly open lips.

"I didn't know you could do that." She said, finally peeling her eyes away from the curtains.

He smirked and pushed her body up, bringing her closer to the headboard, "There's a lot of things I can do that you don't know about."

Aria chuckled and rolled over. They reached the edge of the bed, nearly falling off.

_Zach quickly caught her arm to keep her from falling._

_"Thanks." She smiled at him, balancing the food on her tray._

_"It's a bit crazy in here, isn't it?" He commented as his order came up next._

_"Yeah! I wouldn't be surprised if this ended in a riot!"_

_He noticed the lanyard around her neck with her press picture, "You work for the paper—"_

_"Yeah, yeah! From Toronto!" She interrupted, her voice was husky and sexy in its own way, "I think I might be the only one here for work, not play." She smiled again, "I'm Spencer, by the way." She said, flashing a friendly smile._

_"Zach Fitzgerald. It's nice to meet you." He laughed softly, "So, you're not actually a Bruins fan?" He pointed at her hat._

_"I have to blend in somehow, eh?" She shrugged, the same smile never going away._

_"You're a Canadian native rooting for the Bruins." He pointed out, "Not the best way to blend in." He added, making her laugh hard. _

_"I just got pulled in tonight. The sports section is not really my department." She explained, "The guy who's supposed to be here tonight caught mono just two days before the game."_

_"That's terrible! People would kill to be in your position right now." Finally, his order came. Mike and Byron were left in their bleachers, waiting for him to come back._

_"Yeah, like the guy with mono! I'm sure he's plotting against me right now." She joked. They stepped aside with their food on the tray._

_"So, what department do you really write for?"_

_"Politics." She answered, nodding as her eyes flickered up and down at him._

_Letting out a breath, Zach smiled softly at the woman before him. Her beauty was just a bonus, but aside from that, Zach was highly impressed with her. He could already tell she was a lot more intelligent than what was on the surface. He had a distinct respect for writers as he was one himself. That was one of the main reasons why he fell for Aria four years ago._

They stood next to each other, sharing the sink as they continued to brush their teeth. They exchanged glances through their reflection on the mirror, their eyes sparkling and reminiscing their sex in drunken stupor.

Ezra leaned down, spitting out the paste and washing it off with water. He wiped his mouth dry and looked at Aria who continued brushing. He smiled and held the side of her head, giving her a kiss before leaving the bathroom.

"What time are you coming back?" She watched him eat his breakfast in a hurry.

"Around 4." He muffled, his mouth full. Aria went around the kitchen island and took a bite out of the buttered toast on his plate, "Why don't you stop by? It's not that far from here. It's only about 20 minutes if you take the subway."

"Umm…" She looked around the room, "Maybe." She couldn't admit to him that she was not a big fan of the subways and walking around on her own trying to follow directions. She would get lost in a second.

"Don't you wanna see me at work?" He jested, giving her a smirk.

"Watching you put books back on shelves?" She sucked in her breath, "I think I'll pass."

"We could always make it fun." He winked.

"Like not putting them alphabetically?" She widened her eyes at him with a quirky smile plastered on her face. Her hips swung to the side as her eyes looked down on him, "You'll be late." She grabbed the plate and turned away, proceeding to walk to the sink.

Ezra went up to the counter with the old women behind their desks, "Good morning, ladies. How are we doing today?" He shot them a smile as he brought his hands in front of him, revealing a tray of Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Their smiles grew as they got up to approach him, "If only my husband was as thoughtful." One of them grumbled. The ladies took a cup one by one.

Chuckling to himself, Ezra placed the tray on top of the desk and headed for the other room where his work started.

Aria looked up from her reading to check the door. She waited for a second then another knock came. She nervously licked her lips and approached the door.

"Who is it?" She said through the door, "Damn it, Ezra, you have magic curtains, but you couldn't install a peephole for your door." She whispered under her breath, "Who is it?" She repeated, a bit more peeved.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor." The voice said and Aria sighed upon hearing his distinct accent.

She opened it, "You could have just said your name, you know."

"Aww, did I scare you, babe?" Wren helped himself inside, "How are ya?" He smiled, sneaking in a quick peck on her cheek, "Where's Ezra?" He glanced back at her then walked farther in.

"He's working." Aria followed him, "Wait, did you say you were a doctor?" She asked as they both entered the living room. Sitting down, Aria watched him as he roamed his place nonchalantly.

"Does that surprise you?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, it does." She said, curling her legs up still keeping her eyes on him. He just didn't seem the type. She pictured doctors to be more serious and professional…and older. Wren was none of the above.

"Well, I am so you might wanna put me on your speed dial." Wren said as he crossed over to the bedroom, "You never know when you're gonna need me." He studied the bed. The blankets were wrinkled and overlapping, and one of the pillows were on the floor, and knowing Ezra, Wren saw this as a clear sign of post-coital.

Gulping, Aria finally got up to see what he was doing, "So, why are you here again?" She asked as he squatted, looking at something.

"You tell me." He stood up with her underwear hanging from his index finger. One of his eyebrows went up, intrigued, "What I would give to have an old friend like you."

"Oh, you're here to interrogate me then?" She crossed her arms above her chest.

"As much as I would love to sit down and talk, no, I am not here to interrogate you." Wren finally said, throwing the panties back on the bed, "Fortunately for you, I'm on duty so I can't stay very long." He walked over to the other side of the bed and bent down.

"Oh, isn't that a shame?" Aria peeked over and saw him reaching for his back pocket, taking out a key, "What are you doing?"

"Hey." Wren said giving her a wary look, "I'll leave you to your dirty business as long as you leave me to mine, yeah?" He stared at her, waiting for her to back away.

Scoffing, Aria left the bedroom and headed back to the couch.

"Hey Ezzie." She greeted, peeking behind the shelf.

Ezra threw his head back and groaned, "How many times do I have to remind you to stop calling me by that name?"

"I like getting on your nerves." She stepped out and walked to him, "You busy?"

He heaved an irritated sigh and grabbed a book from his cart, "Apparently not from the looks of it." He said sarcastically and gestured at the cart filled with books.

"Wow, sounds like someone had an extra bowl of asshole this morning."

He looked at her and tilted his head, "What can I do for you, miss Jenna Marshall?"

They had known each other for a while, over two years now. Only she was a year younger than him.

"Come stop by the apartment tonight. We're throwing a surprise party for my step brother." She told him.

"Surprise party?"

"Yup. He just got released." They went around the shelf, "You should come. It'll be fun." She smiled.

"I can't tonight."

"Oh sure, we'll just reschedule the party perhaps something more convenient for you?" Jenna cocked her eyebrow, "Why can't you go?"

"I've got a guest over."

"Ezzie got another hot date with his left hand tonight?" Her plump lips curled into a flirtatious smile, "It's okay, you can bring him. We won't mind."

He rolled the cart, walking away as Jenna called after him, shouting his nickname while her laughter echoed throughout the aisles. She was just one of those people who you hate to love and love to hate.

Aria squirmed a bit, settling her head against the white marble tub as the warm water created little waves each time she moved and the foam bubbles quickly disappeared.

She shut her eyes, relaxing herself from such a long boring day. How was it that only a couple of days with him made her already forget how it felt to be alone. Aria gracefully slipped downward, her whole body under the soapy water, muffling the sounds outside.

_The palm trees swayed; Aria stared at it for a while as she continued to finish her lunch. The weather made her sweaty and sticky and irritated._

_She missed Rosewood, mainly for the neutral weather. California was lovely, that she couldn't deny, but sometimes, she felt homesick whenever she had one of these moments; eating alone during her breaks. She still had some adjusting to make, more importantly, some friends to make._

_"Mind if I take this spot?" He asked, his eyes hiding under his hat._

_Aria looked up, squinting, "Not at all." She smiled, moving her bag._

_"I've seen you around the school. I think we might even be in the same buildings some days." He paused to see her reaction, "I know, I know, that sounds creepy, but it's true." He said as he pulled out his lunch from his bag, "What's your major?"_

_"English Lit. Might change it to journalism."_

_"Oh, no wonder."_

_She looked at him, "You too?"_

_Zach nodded calmly and started to unwrap the sandwich he had in his hands, "What are the odds, huh?" He said smiling at her. They both squinted, trying to fight the glaring sun before them._

"Boo." He whispered. He sat on the tiled floor right beside the tub, watching her.

Aria jumped up a little bit, "Fuck, Ezra." She whispered, "Don't do that." She pushed herself up and washed her face with water.

"Were you sleeping?" He asked a bit turned on by her behavior and the fact that she was naked in front of him, "You're gonna turn into a prune." He pointed out, dipping his hand into the water, "Which is not at all sexy." His hand found her thigh and he gave her a little pinch there.

"Fuck you." She snapped as she splashed his face with water, her heart still beating out of her chest from his scare, "Why are you back so early?"

"Come on, we're going out." He said as he stood up and took the towel, wiping his face then throwing it near her.

She had noticed how he didn't insist in holding her hand whenever he had the chance or whenever she thought it was appropriate. Aria took it as a sign of denial, a refusal of what they should be; a real couple and he was just really in it for some company during lonely nights. That she didn't mind, after all, she was only going to be here for a couple of weeks, maybe even less.

Ezra walked a few steps ahead of her as they reached the building where Jenna lived.

"Wren's probably up there already." He informed her as they went up the stairs.

"You have very a small circle of friends, don't you?"

He looked back and smiled, "I'm picky."

They finally got to her apartment, opening it. They were welcomed by a screaming crowd, all simultaneously yelling "Surprise".

"Damn it, Ezra! You could try calling early to warn us you were coming." Jenna said, walking up to him while the rest groaned at his presence, for making them waste such a good surprise. Jenna smiled, "Wow, you weren't kidding about having a guest." She approached Aria and gave her a hug, "Hi. Okay, we'll talk later, but right now, I need you guys to go find a hiding spot because Toby should be coming in soon." She spoke fast and smiled at both of them.

There were a group of people in one corner and some were spread out, mingling and laughing.

"You're not from here…" He said to her in a low volume. Toby was well-built and had a quiet confidence about him, but something felt wrong as Aria stared at his mischievous smile. There was something immature about him and it didn't help that he looked way younger than most of the people in the party.

Aria nodded, "Did you figure that out all by yourself?"

His sinister smile stuck, "Well, 70% of these people are my friends, the rest are Jenna's and I don't believe we've met. And more importantly, you don't have a drink in your hand." He handed her a cup with beer in it, "You're our special guest! You should be drinking!"

"Thanks." She took the drink. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Cheers." He raised his cup and so did she, drinking it until it was all gone, "Come on, get some fresh air with me out in the balcony."

Aria watched him heading out to the balcony. What was it about these people that always had the upper hand over someone else?

Melissa giggled softly as Wren kissed her neck. They lingered in the kitchen for a while.

"Hey." Ezra walked in, putting his cup on the counter, "Have you guys seen Aria?"

"Uh-uh." Melissa mumbled, her face brushing against Wren's neck.

"Spotted her with Toby a while ago." Wren told him. The men shared a knowingly look and a second later, Ezra took off, "I'll be right back." Wren said to Melissa, letting go of her waist.

Ezra slid the glass door open and saw the two talking, well, Toby talking. He leaned against the balcony rail as Aria stayed seated on a folding chair.

"There you are." Ezra said walking to her, "Been looking around everywhere for you." He smiled as Aria stood up shakily, "You alright?" Ezra reached for her arm, supporting it. They stepped out of the balcony.

"Umm…" Aria whispered, her eyes droopy, "Ez…"

Stiffening his posture, Toby stared at Ezra, "She's fine, she's just been drinking." He answered, receiving a glare from Ezra. Toby rolled his eyes and followed them, "What the hell? We were just talking." He retorted, grabbing Ezra's shoulder, almost pulling him back.

Ezra turned to him with a very threatening poise, "Don't think I don't know what you're fucking doing." He snapped, his eyes narrowing on him.

All of a sudden, some girls had let out a shrill scream. Ezra turned around and saw Wren hurriedly approaching Aria; her body on the floor, completely blacked out. Wren held up her head and looked up at Ezra as Toby stayed close behind him, his eyebrows raised as if entertained at the sight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews, everybody. I love hearing your thoughts/predictions/confusion, haha. Keep 'em coming. Thanks again! - Queen**

* * *

"Can't wait to go back home and hear a mouthful from Melissa." Wren said as they stepped outside the loft.

Ezra chuckled, "Or not. Since when did she ever give a shit about anything?"

"Yeah, you're right." They shared a smile, "Call me if the tiny one's still not feeling well."

"Thanks for staying." He patted his back and retreated a few steps, getting ready to go back in.

"Wait, I almost forgot." Wren said, holding the door open, "Why don't you guys come with us later? Melissa and I are taking the dogs out for a walk in Central Park. It's been a while." He said, "That is if Melissa decides not to get pissy with me."

Nodding, Ezra held the door, "Yeah, yeah, I'll give you a call."

The throbbing woke her up. It felt like someone was wringing her head. Aria rolled over the bed and felt something cold next to her face. She saw the ice bag and took it, putting it near her aching head.

"You're up." He said as he watched her move her head, grimacing. Ezra fumed every time he saw her in bed with the vulnerable look on her face. He kept a reminder in the back of his head about Toby and what was coming for him when they meet again.

"What happened?" Aria asked, struggling to sit up.

"What do you remember?"

She looked at him with furrowed brow, "I was talking to Toby and he gave me a drink—"

"Well,_ there's_ your first mistake."

_"I got her. I got her." Ezra went down with Wren and carried Aria. Some people gathered around to see. Jenna met up with them by the door with a distraught look on her face. Facing her, Ezra glared, "If your brother pulls that shit again, I'll fucking kill him." _

_"And I'll fucking help." Wren added and followed Ezra out the door. The two men stormed out of the apartment building with Aria as Jenna went to go talk to Toby._

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" She slapped his chest, "It's your first day out and you come back, drugging some girl?" Her nostrils flared, "Damn it, Toby, try playing nice for once."_

_Toby shrugged, "Guess I can't help myself." He let out his devilish smile._

Aria shook her head, "We were just getting to know each other."

"Oh yeah, he would have known you very well if I hadn't come in." Ezra scooted over to her, his leg folded underneath while the other dangled from the bedside, "He was sent away after being busted for drug dealing."

"Well thanks, that information would have helped if you had told me that_ before_ the party."

"I'm sorry." His hand went up to her thigh, brushing it, "I didn't actually expect him to roofie someone the same day he got out."

Smiling now, Aria held his face, "It's okay. Being drugged wasn't the worse part, believe it or not, hitting my head did more damage I think." She raised the ice bag.

"Yeah." He took the bag and placed it on top of her head, "I didn't see the fall. Kinda wish I did now though." He joked as Aria slapped his arm.

The dogs ran and playfully fought with each other while the owners stayed close behind them. Melissa and Aria held the leashes and a couple of tennis balls while the men, a few feet behind them, carried a bag filled with dog treats and goody bags for when the dogs had to go do their business.

"Yeah, he's an asshole." Melissa said to Aria who was walking right beside her, "You'd think 3 years in jail would set him straight. Apparently not after last night." She smiled at Aria, "How's your head by the way?"

"I'm fine. I owe your boyfriend one." She smiled back and glanced back at the guys who were chatting as well. They were like brothers. They could pass up as brothers, only if it weren't for that accent.

"Trust me, Wren won't leave you alone for it."

Aria could see why Wren was able to tolerate Melissa even when people didn't seem to warm up to her. She was actually decent when caught in a good mood. She carried an "older sister" vibe around her and Aria somewhat felt comfortable having her around.

"That whole family's fucked up anyway." Melissa added.

Aria looked at her, "Toby's? What makes you say that?"

Tilting her head, Melissa rolled her eyes, "His step sister, Jenna?" Melissa said and saw Aria acknowledging her, "They're known for sleeping together." She chuckled as she watched Aria's stunned reaction, "They like to pretend people don't notice, but everybody knows they enjoy the attention."

"Wow." She let out, unsure of what to say after that bombshell.

"Yeah, you should be glad that Ezra didn't turn out like them, with him having a half brother and a shitty father." Melissa threw a tennis ball at her dog, "Which is good for him, you know?" She shouted at her dog who started running toward the grass and over the prohibited fence, "Hold on, I'll be right back." Melissa jogged after the dog, leaving Aria on her own.

Lowering her eyebrows, Aria thought of what Melissa had just told her. Come to think of it, she and Ezra never talked about his family. She thought more about it, feeling a bit overwhelmed by what seemed like another bombshell for her.

They took the table outside where it was nice and sunny but only because they had dogs and they weren't allowed inside.

"They're from the pound." Wren told Aria, "This may sound like a shock to you, but Melissa has a soft spot for animals."

"That's why I chose you." Melissa remarked, running her hand against his cheek.

"And by that, she means I'm an animal in bed." Wren grinned at Melissa.

Aria laughed softly at them and looked at Ezra who kept his eyes on her, smiling too. She reached under the table and squeezed his hand for a second.

Observing them both, Wren cleared his throat, "Ezra." He said squarely, "We need to pay Toby a visit soon, yeah?" This time it was Aria who did the observing.

Ezra had a wary look on his face, "It's a given." Ezra replied, his eyes undoubtedly avoiding Aria's just so he didn't have to explain everything to her.

"Wait, wait, wait." Aria chimed in, "What do you mean pay him a visit?"

"Don't worry about it." Ezra told her, his hand touching her thigh under the table.

"No." She shook his hand away, "Guys, please don't do anything rash…" She implored.

Wren chuckled and turned to Ezra, "She's cute when she thinks she has a say in this."

Shooting him glares, Aria gritted her teeth at Wren and turned to Ezra, her eyes begging while his told her that she really had no say in this.

_"Hey, it's you." She turned to him in awe, "Zach, right?"_

_"Right. And you're Spencer, the Bruins fan, but not really." He grinned and glanced back, "Look at what you did." He commented and motioned at the sight before them._

_The game had ended in a violent riot, just as she had predicted. The Bruins had won, driving the Canucks into a full-on rage and what was worse was how some people were slick enough to sneak in alcohol during the game._

_Spencer laughed, "This is why I don't do sports!" She said throwing her hands up._

_"Oh, like politics is any different?" Zach pointed out, smiling._

_"Come on." She grabbed his hand and led them somewhere safe and sound._

_Hesitating, Zach looked back at the rink knowing Mike and Byron were still inside, waiting for him, "Alright." Zach replied and let her lead the way._

_They ran to the parking lot and went inside a car. Spencer chuckled, slamming the door._

_"I'm assuming this is yours?" He asked watching her._

_"No, I'm carjacking it. We're in the middle of a riot…might as well try, right?" She replied and saw his face turning white, "I'm kidding!" She took the keys from her back pocket and shook it in his face._

_Zach grabbed it from her hand and licked his lips, grinning. Spencer gazed at him and jumped in, her lips kissing the corner of his mouth._

"Well, that was relaxing." She sighed exhausted from all the walking and being out in the sun all day. Melissa and Wren were starting to leave a mark in her life; they were reserved a spot in her heart even when all of this was said and done. But right now, she could only hope they would keep in touch. Aria lay down on the bed, not bothering to take off her clothes while Ezra changed into his shirt and boxers.

"Did you want dinner?" Ezra asked as he made his way to the bed and watched her shake her head, "Good." He grinned as he climbed into bed, kneeling in front of her.

"Melissa told me something which I thought was very interesting." She brought up as he reached for her pants, unzipping them slowly.

"Did she?" He said, playing along while his attention was torn in two.

Aria lifted her hips for a second allowing him to pull her pants off completely, "You never told me you have a brother."

Looking up at her, Ezra nodded, "Half." He corrected her as he threw her pants on the floor.

"How come you never told me?"

He shrugged and took his shirt off, "Didn't think it was a big deal." He crawled closer to her, settling himself between her legs.

"Of course it's a big deal." She said, her hands on his chest, "…Does he live here too?"

"I don't know." He blatantly replied and kissed her chin. He felt her pushing him back, stopping him from doing whatever he was going to do next, "What?" He saw her make a face so he groaned in response, "Look, I haven't talked to him in years."

"And you're not even gonna try and get in touch with him?"

"Why should I? He and I never got along well."

"He's still your brother, Ezra."

"_Half_ brother." He reminded her. Aria rolled her eyes and turned her face away, "What do you want me to do, Aria?"

She faced him again, "I just think…" Her fingers tapped his chest softly, "That you should try and patch things up with him. Your birthday is coming soon. Turning 30, that's a milestone—"

"No, it's not."

"Well, it's a nice number for starting anew." She retorted, "And it's the perfect time and it's a reasonable excuse for a reunion." She told him.

"Fine, but can we please focus on this reunion first?" He cast his eyes down with a smirk on his face as he moved forward, tugging on her lips.

"Promise me you'll find him just in time for your birthday." She said against his mouth, her hands going around his head, "I'd like to meet him." She smiled softly.

Giving in, he nodded, "For you, I will." He replied, lifting his head to look at her in the eyes, "Not for him or anybody else. Not even for me."

"Good enough." She smiled and raised her head to kiss him, "Thank you."

The boardwalk was popular during the summer. Encircling it was a two-story restaurant that overlooked the water and the docks with their yachts locked in.

Zach had a reluctant smile upon his face as she approached his table. Spencer was the kind of person you could talk to without having to decipher anything in her words. She made you feel like a close friend with her honesty and openness.

"Is it always this nice at night in Philly?" She said as she sat down with him. Her hair was down unlike the first time they had met where it was in a neat ponytail and hidden under her Bruins hat.

"I've absolutely no idea. This is my first time coming here after sunset." They took a moment to take in the beautiful lights surrounding the restaurant. Zach turned his eyes away from it all and smiled at her, "I can't believe you're here."

"I _am _supposed to be doing research in Pittsburgh, but—" She aimed her head at him accusingly.

"I'm very grateful you came." He said, "I just needed someone to talk to."

"I can tell." She examined him. His posture tensed and the way his eyebrows and mouth shifted showed his distress, "What is it?"

He rubbed his chin and let out an exasperated sigh, "I don't know if I've been completely honest…" He spoke softly, "With you and with everybody." He laid his eyes on her, "And I think that might have taken a drastic toll on me." He swallowed hard and stared quietly at her, apprehensive.

"Zach." She reached for his hands, brushing them, "You can tell me."

Groaning softly, Ezra intertwined her hands over her head as he moved above her. Aria closed her eyes tightly and lifted her head, pressing the side of her face against his, feeling the soft stubble.

He smiled as he heard her whisper his name in the midst of her moaning. He freed her hands and felt her arm clasping his back while the other went under his arm, her nails digging into his skin.

Ezra grunted and lunged forward, burying his face in the pillow. Aria arched her back and in return, he slipped his arm under it, thrusting once more, bringing them closer to the brink of ecstasy.

_She pulled away, wiping her lips with her thumb, and looked at Zach who kept quiet, "Shit." She glanced at the keys and took it, her eyes having trouble to keep a long enough contact with his. They stayed still for a moment, still trying to figure out what just occurred._

_"I shouldn't." Zach finally said, breaking the silence._

_"I know. I'm sorry."_

_"Don't be. It's not you. You're very nice, and lovely, and very attractive—"_

_"You don't have to try and make me feel better."_

_"I'm not. Believe me." He sighed deeply, "I have a girlfriend back home." He explained._

_Spencer looked at him with dejected eyes, "All the good ones are taken, aren't they?"_

_"No, they're not." He replied quickly with a kind smile on his face. They stayed seated, quietly holding each other's eyes as the riot continued on outside._


	6. Chapter 6

**As someone asked, italics are indeed flashbacks. To clear up the storylines because there are about three going on during the past/present:**

_**Zach and Aria during their college year (past, past) vs. Zach and Aria during the accident (past)  
Zach and Spencer in Canada (past) vs. Zach and Spencer in Pennsylvania (present)  
And everyone in the present time...**_

* * *

She hugged the toilet and vomited for the second time today. Her hand went up to her stomach, "Shit." She looked down at it, her eyes getting bigger, "Shit…" Aria quickly flushed the toilet and wiped her mouth, "Ezra!" She called out, too weak to get up from the floor.

He knocked on the door and saw her sitting down, "What's the matter?" He walked and joined her on the floor with his hand going up to her back.

"You might hate me." She said, her face wrinkled in concern.

"No. I could never. I love you. Don't ever doubt that."

The words sent shivers down her spine. Aria quickly turned to face him with his blue eyes and blonde hair staring right through her.

"Hey…" He softly shook her shoulder as she whimpered under her breath, her back turned to him, "Aria…" Ezra shook her again, jolting her awake with her frightened eyes wide open. Her body turned to face him, "You're fine. It's just me." He said as she adjusted, feeling lost for a moment, "What's wrong?"

She could feel the sweat on her back as she shifted in a different position, "Nothing." She forced a smile, "Go back to sleep…" She turned around again, putting her hands underneath her cheek. She felt his arm wrapping around her breasts as he went back to sleep. Aria sighed and looked out the window, wishing she could go back to sleep as easily as him.

_The car stalled in the empty parking lot. Spencer watched him pacing back and forth as he talked to someone on the phone._

_"It's the Star. From Toronto…yes, the paper." Zach said, "Well I could catch a flight tomorrow morning." He rubbed his forehead as Byron continued to tell him about driving back home and how they needed him there, "I…it's fine. You'll be alright." He sighed, "This could be an opportunity...right - Thank you. Drive safe. I'll be home before you know it."_

_Spencer saw him hang up the phone and he stood in the same spot for a while with his hand on his waist, looking very contemplative. Spencer honked the horn, stealing his attention. Zach looked up at her as she smiled, blinding him with the blinking headlights._

"I cooked us pancakes." He said as she shuffled around the living room. Ezra peeled his eyes away from the pan and took a look at her, "Wanna come here and join me?" He added and heard no response.

Aria tilted her head back, feeling the soft warm water hitting her face. She could think here, alone in the quiet with the water comforting and cleansing her. She felt renewed. She liked to think she was forgiven each time she did this, forgiven for her infidelity specifically, but most of the time, she made herself forget that subject and continued on washing every inch of her body.

The curtains flew open with him climbing in, "Save water." He excused as he stood behind her with the water both hitting them. She ran her hand over her face and turned to look at him, a bit surprised, "You don't mind, do you?"

She looked at him for a moment, thinking and quietly shook her head, "…No."

Ezra furrowed his brow and touched her cheek, "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know." He ran his hand through her wet hair, "You're acting very…aversive toward me." He studied her eyes.

"I'm not."

"Is this about last night?"

"Last night?"

"It was just a dream, Aria." He told her, "Whatever it was…it was probably nothing."

Arching her eyebrows, "Maybe I just like taking showers alone." She said softly.

He squinted his left eye, "Is that my exit cue?"

"No…" She replied, feeling remorse.

"Aria…" He said tilting his head to one side.

"I'm fine." She gave a half-smile and planted a kiss on his wet chest while he embraced her closer to him although he was left unconvinced.

_The waiter poured some red wine into their glass. Spencer watched as it reached half way then looked up at the waiter with a grateful smile. Zach had his laced hands on the table, still trying to take in the lovely restaurant. They were under dressed for such a fancy place. They had on hockey jerseys and Bruins hats while the people around them wore dresses and suits. It was a bit too much especially being here with someone he had just met a few hours ago. But it was the closest restaurant they could find that was still open for the night._

_Gleaming up at him, Spencer gently touched the glass of wine while her other hand played with the soft white tablecloth, quietly contemplating her next move. The two exchanged glances, rising the tension. They were the most palpable strangers they ever knew and they were comfortable knowing it. They were separated by this unseen wall, holding them back, chaining them down and preventing them from doing what they really wanted to do with each other. It was the voice in the back of his head and hers that kept pulling them back, prying them apart with all its might._

_"Spill the wine." She said to him._

_The line on his forehead deepened as he stared on, "What?" His hands loosened up._

_"Spill the wine." She repeated, her voice the same as it was a few seconds ago._

_"…Why?" Zach questioned as his eyes glued on hers._

_"Because you want to."_

_"I really would rather not…"_

_"Why?" She asked abruptly as if she was baiting him to say something._

_Zach cleared his throat and thought for a moment, "Because…" He glanced around and saw people eating quietly and peacefully, "I don't wanna cause any ruckus." He whispered, leaning in. His voice rose a bit as if wondering if he answered the question correctly._

_"It's just wine."_

_He touched the tablecloth, bringing her attention to it, "And I don't want to stain this."_

_"You couldn't care less about the cloth." Chuckling to herself, Spencer fixed her gaze on him, "We're so restricted." She stated, "We can't even spill our drinks whenever we feel like it."_

_Zach chewed on his lower lip as he listened to her carefully. She definitely had his full attention, "Well..." He mumbled under his breath._

_"What's the worst that could happened? The waiter gives us a dirty look? People break glasses all the time, drop food all the time, spill their drinks all the time. Do you think the waiter would give a shit?"_

_Now he could see why she wrote for politics, "Probably not." He chimed in and took another wary glance around him._

_"We make such big deal out of things that don't even matter." She said, almost to herself, "It's kinda sad, don't you think?"_

_Putting his elbow on the table, Zach couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was trying to say something to him and it wasn't about the stupid wine or the tablecloth; Zach knew it wasn't any of that. It was about them, just the two of them, and how they couldn't do anything because of the voice that kept holding them back, the same voice telling him to not spill the wine, the same voice telling him not to not sleep with her tonight._

_Zach pulled his hand away from the table and took one final glance at the people around them. Their waiter was attending another table, serving the food to the customers._

_Turning to her once again, Zach brought up his hand and knocked the glass over. The white cloth slowly turned into pure blood red while the people around them continued on with their business, taken by their own oblivion._

_Spencer and Zach looked at each other, grinning and ignoring everything and everyone around them. It felt good. He felt good. It was like a rite of passage. The second he did it, he felt as if he was free to do everything else. He wanted to tell her, he wanted to credit her and admit how right she was about everything. But he was afraid that if he did, he would do more than just spill a glass of wine._

"No silly questions today?" Wren asked as he closed the drawer. He locked it and finally looked up at Aria who was sitting on the couch, staring at her phone. He left the bedroom and walked to her, "Ezra not satisfying you enough?" He said with a smirk, "I'm more than willing to help." Without a response, Wren changed his face, letting it become stern and straight, "Maybe you should give him a call."

Aria finally directed her head toward him, "I don't wanna bother Ezra." She went back staring at her phone again.

Getting up, Wren shook his head at her, "Not Ezra." He gave her a tight smile.

She looked at him. She should have been surprised that he knew, but for some reason, she wasn't perhaps because she felt too exhausted to express any emotions at the moment. She licked her lips, "What's in the drawer?"

"Pardon?" Wren asked as Aria glared at him, knowing exactly what she meant, "It's nothing, just paperworks."

"Not once have I seen you come here with paper or any types of file." She said determined to find out.

He rubbed his neck while his other hand went inside his pant pocket, "I gotta go. Duty calls." He said, "Call him, yeah?" He said once again and left the loft as quickly as possible.

The boardwalk was a lot quieter during hump day. They were making it a habit; this whole meeting after dark, in the same place, same time. They were each other's secret even though they didn't necessarily have to be.

"You ever think that maybe you and I—" Spencer started as they walked with a safe distance between them, "…were just meant to know each other? Like childhood friends."

Zach smiled, his hands hiding shyly inside his pockets, "Yes, I do. I think about that all the time."

"You think about me all the time?" She asked, teasing him with her wide smile.

He cleared his throat and carefully looked at her, "…Not in that way, but—"

"I know. I was kidding." She stepped closer and hit his arm playfully, "You need to loosen up." She said, tugging the sleeve of his shirt, "C'mon. Let's put your car to good use and go for a drive."

"To where?" Zach asked as her hand clasped with his.

"Nowhere." She smiled again arching her eyebrows to add suspense.

He took the last book from the cart, seeing it empty meant home for him. Now all he needed to do was clean up and buy dinner for Aria and himself.

"Excuse me, where can I find this book?" A middle-aged woman questioned, showing him a piece of paper with the author's name.

Ezra smiled and pushed the cart aside, "Well, the f-i-c implies fiction so it'll be in that section." He pointed to one of the aisles, "Come on, I'll show you." They headed for the aisle, "That's a classic, by the way." Ezra said, regarding the book she was looking for, "Gatsby's one of my favorites. Is this your first time reading it?"

"Oh no, it's for my daughter." The woman said, "For her summer reading. She's gonna be a junior."

"Ah." He nodded and laughed inside his head at the familiarity of the situation. He stopped in front of a shelf, quietly looking for the book, "Fitzgerald…Fitzgerald…" He took out the book, "Here we go." He said taking the book out and handing it to her.

"Thank you." She smiled warmly.

"No problem." He smiled back and watched her walk away, "Goodnight…" He added after her.

She wrapped her arms around herself, tightening her jacket. Aria walked a couple of blocks from the building and looked for a phone booth. She didn't want to risk being tracked if she had called using her phone even though she knew Zach wouldn't go as far as to tracking her calls. But better safe than sorry.

Just near a convenient store, Aria spotted the phone booth, alone and neglected. She walked over and before touching the booth, she covered her hand with her jacket's sleeve and wiped the phone.

"I don't know where we're going!" Zach exclaimed as he kept a light steady speed. Spencer laughed softly beside him and rolled down the windows. They somehow ended up near the woods with streets completely dark and no signs of any other cars or civilization for that matter.

Spencer reached for the radio buttons, changing the channels and only seemed to get static, "Yeah, we're definitely not getting a lot of signals here."

His phone started to ring, vibrating against the little table between their seats, "Not likely." He said pointing at the ringing phone. He kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel, careful not to crash into anything that might jump out of nowhere.

She took the phone and checked the screen, "It's an Unknown." She told him, "Probably just a telemarketer. Want me to answer it?"

He glanced at her and nodded, "Sure, go for it."

Aria moved closer to the booth, looking down and hiding her face half way in.

"Hello?" Spencer said sounding quite lively.

Aria furrowed at the female's voice, "Umm, I'm sorry I think I dialed the wrong number—"

"Were you expecting from a Zach?" Spencer asked quickly as she looked at the driver who glanced back, waiting to be informed.

With wide eyes, Aria licked her lips and nodded to herself, "Umm, yeah. Yes, I was."

"Oh then you're not mistaken, but he's a bit preoccupied right now."

She felt her throat closing up, "Oh…" She managed to get out, "…I'm sorry, who is this?"

"This is Spencer." She answered and smiled at Zach who mouthed 'who is it?'. Spencer shrugged, "And yours?"

"Can you just tell him that—" She bit her lips, "That I called?"

Spencer chuckled, "Alright…a name would help though." She said and suddenly heard the dial tone. She turned to him, "She just hung up on me!" She said chuckling in shock.

"Who was it? Telemarketers?"

"She didn't give a name. She just wanted to tell you that she called." She filled him in and put the phone down. Spencer received a long gazing look at Zach.

He pulled the car over and sighed, "I'm sorry." He excused himself and stayed quiet for a moment, thinking deeply. A second later, he took the phone and checked it over.

"Shit…that was her, wasn't it?" She asked wanting to make sure and as soon as he nodded, Spencer shut her eyes in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's fine." He said and read the latest call from his phone, wishing Aria didn't call as unknown. He really did miss talking to her, but at least he knew she was safe, safe enough to make a phone call anyway.

Aria sat on the closed toilet, her face buried in her hands, leaning in. She heard the door closing and his footsteps nearing. She quickly dried her face with her hands and stood up, walking to the sink.

"Hey." Ezra greeted, peeking in, "I bought dinner. It's your fav—"

"I'm sorry, Ezra, I'm not really in the mood right now." She said, storming out of the bathroom.

He heard the front door close, assuming she had walked out. He took a moment to think to himself before going after her, wondering if he had said anything wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Questions: "Spencer and Aria do not know each other? Second, where is Zach and Spencer? Are they near Aria? Aria's pregnant? I think so..."**_

_**Spencer and Aria do not know each other, right. (present) Zach and Spencer are in Pennsylvania as Spencer stated "Philadelphia/Philly", (past) Zach and Spencer are in Canada. Aria and Ezra are in New York. Aria is not pregnant, that was just a dream.**_

_**I just think it's important to read carefully because you might miss a few lines and that could really mess you up later on. And as far as the dashes/separation go, I really hate those. I think they're a nuisance, they kinda make the paragraphs ugly lol. I mean, when you read thoroughly, you can pretty much understand everything without having the need for dashes or whatnot. Thank you for the suggestions and the questions. - Queen**_

* * *

_Aria watched him from the rear view mirror. As he was about to open the passenger door, Aria stepped on the gas, driving a few feet away. She laughed softly as Zach looked at her menacingly._

_His patience was admirable. Aria loved that about him. It only took them a couple of months to fully know each other. He wasn't as social as the rest of the people around the university and she was still new so all they really had was each other whenever they were free. And that free time led to something more._

_"You're gonna be like that?" Zach said as he started walking toward the car again. He held the door as she stepped on the gas one last time. He tilted his head, "You're really asking for it now."_

She sat on the stairsteps, needing and wanting to be alone. She knew it wasn't fair to throw Ezra into this but she didn't know any other way to handle her emotions. Aria was the last person to feel betrayed seeing how she had already betrayed him many times. And all she had was some girl answering his phone which could have meant or been anything, but being only human, it had upset her.

She glanced up, not willing to let gravity control her tears.

Ezra ambled his way to his bedroom and opened the drawer hidden under the bed. For a moment, he stared at all the things inside it then took out a clear ziplock bag.

The door made a creaking sound causing her to let her head turn to see. Ezra came out with the bag in his hand and saw her with her leg fully exposed due to her short dress.

"So that's why Wren keeps dropping by." Aria commented quietly as he calmly sat next to her, his hands preparing the joint.

"I haven't done it in a while, trust me." He said, rolling the paper folding it methodically, "It's only for special occasions."

She didn't say anything for a while. She couldn't care less about the weed. All she could think about was why he wasn't angry with her or even upset at least for her behavior. She assumed he was doing this now to escape, to lighten up the mood the easy way rather than talk about it.

Aria tilted her head to the side, "So what's the special occasion now?" She asked as he licked the paper. She watched him as he finished and finally lit it, still waiting for him to answer.

"You." He replied and took a drag, his eyes drawing up on hers. Aria took a breath in, mesmerized by how he held it between his index finger and the middle finger so delicately. Aria leaned in, kissing him passionately and gingerly just how he held the joint between his fingers.

And before he knew it, Aria had taken it away from his hand. He smiled as she took it in and as a first timer, she coughed violently. Ezra took it back and softly grabbed her chin, kissing her again. They did this over and over again, alternately passing it back and exchanging kisses until the joint was nearly gone.

Moments later, her glazed over eyes became provocative, letting Ezra know she was off to somewhere else and soon, he was about to join her; wherever she was now.

"We need to get you inside before you start thinking…" He glanced at the stairs; three floors down, "You're Wonderwoman and jump off and hurt yourself." He said, his words flowing out slowly and thick as they stood up.

Smiling, Aria pulled the hem of his shirt and slowly pushed him against the wall. Ezra grabbed her waist and turned her around, taking the upper hand.

Ezra grabbed her arm, raising it above her head and pinning her hand against the wall. Her waist jutted forward, pressing it against his as his hand went up her dress, his fingers wandering off.

_"Stop beating yourself up." Spencer said, still holding his hand, "You couldn't have possibly known."_

_"I could have stopped it." Zach countered and pulled his hands away, "If I hadn't stayed, they would have gotten home safely."_

_"…And it would have been the end for us." She nodded and looked away, fixing her gaze on the lamp posts and the dock near it, "Do you regret me?" She didn't like to show vulnerability but she also couldn't bear to be with someone who made her doubt herself._

_"Wouldn't change anything." Zach sucked in his lower lip, choosing his words carefully, "I just wished I had met you at a different time."_

_Nodding understandingly, she turned back to him, "How is she?" Spencer asked, diverting the subject away from them._

_"She left."_

_"…You?"_

_"No." Zach cleared his throat, "No, she didn't leave me. She left."_

_Spencer furrowed her brow, "She'll be back then?" She asked, trying her best to hide the tiniest hint that she was jealous._

_"Yeah. I mean—" He nodded and looked at her, "I don't see why she wouldn't."_

He sat up with his legs sprawled out on the bed as she held onto him, her legs wrapped around his lower back. Aria opened her eyes and saw the brick wall and the dresser with the mirror across the room moving very fluid-like. She could vaguely see their naked bodies in the reflection, moving in rhythm. Everything felt like it was in slow motion and very vividly, she could feel all the pressure against her body while they continued to make love, as if they were floating in mid-air.

Ezra's hands pressed against her back, pulling her closer to him as he traced her collarbone with kisses while her hair spilled in front of his face, intoxicating him with the fruity and sweet smell. He could feel Aria's fingers going through his hair, fisting it each time she moved against him.

Letting out a soft gasp, Aria felt his arms tucking under hers as they fell back into bed with their chest heaving up and down. She sighed and looked at him while the things behind him continued to spin. Gazing back, Ezra kissed her lips and knew she hadn't come down from her high from the way her glassy eyes smiled at the nothingness around her.

"I love you." Ezra breathed out and swallowed hard while his fingers brushed the temple of her head.

Aria furrowed her brow and out came a burst of laughter, her whole body shaking along with it.

He watched on as she laughed uncontrollably, still completely out of it. Ezra feigned a chuckle as he got off of her, catching him off guard by her reaction.

She exhaled, her laughter dying down, "Oh fuck, I'm starving." She breathed out as the back of her hand flew to her forehead, wiping off the beads of sweat.

_Zach brought their drinks as she looked down, adoring the Californian view with its tall trees and the beach just a distance away._

_"I'm back." He said interrupting her moment, "I've never been here before." He told her, "It's a lot more peaceful. I like it." He smiled as he walked up to her, giving her the drink._

_The rooftop was always off limits, but it was their semester break which meant a lot of parties and lack of security. And Aria was smart enough to take advantage of the oblivious people inside who were partying and quickly snuck up here with him._

_Taking a small sip from the glass, Aria smiled, "I like it too." Aria said quietly and looked at him with smokey eyes._

_Zach smiled and wrapped one arm around her while holding his drink. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she let out a soft sigh as he swayed her, slow dancing to the silence that surrounded them._

He grinned and watched her as she sat on his lap, wolfing down her third cupcake. Ezra moved a strand of hair away from her face and planted a kiss on her cheek, "You're ruining my favorite shirt." He said against her skin.

Aria looked down and saw crumbs all over it, "I'll wash it." She said rolling her eyes.

"Or you could take it off." He let out a crooked smile as she turned to look at him, bringing the cupcake to his mouth, allowing him to finish all of it. Ezra lifted her up and settled her down on the dining table. He securely grabbed her legs and allowed it to wrap around his hip.

Aria chuckled softly, "_Now_ you can take it off." She smiled.

_Driving back home had a different atmosphere. Aria felt his eyes on her as they drove through the broad and empty road with tall trees beside them. Her hand leaned on the armrest as she stole a few glances at Zach._

_Zach reached for her hand and linked his fingers with hers without saying a word._

_This was the moment where she could look back and tell herself how young they were when they fell for each other. It was the time where she could replay every second of it over and over again in her head whenever she was feeling down and it would make her smile as she glanced at him in the living room; a much older him, the always quiet Zach with white hair, thick reading glasses, and old wisdom. And she would take pride in choosing and having someone like him throughout the years, and achieving in staying with him and only him._

_Because to have someone who loves you the way you want to be loved is one of life's finest and rarest gifts; and ever so often, more often than we like to think, we are given these chances to attain such love. But what seems to be the common problem is we do not have the slightest clue of how to keep it._

"I'm sorry for spazzing out on you earlier." Aria said as they lay in bed, her fingers playing with the soft tufts of hair on his chest, "I'm sure that's not how you imagined coming home."

Chuckling to himself, Ezra looked down at her, "You'll tell me what it was all about?"

"I couldn't if I wanted to."

"Hmm?" He furrowed his brow and squirmed a bit to take a good look at her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, "I think he's with someone else." She sucked in her lip and gazed up at him. She felt his hand pulling her closer almost in a protective kind of way.

Ezra drew in a breath and slowly released it, "Would he?"

"No, that's just it. It's not like him at all." Aria quickly replied, "But then again, I never thought _I_ could ever do this." She added, lightly tapping his chest with her index finger, "It's scary…" She shook her head again as her eyes stared into the distant, "How well you think you know yourself then all of a sudden, something happens…and you become this person you promised you wouldn't be."

"You shouldn't dwell on that." He told her, his lips leaning down to her head for a kiss, "But between you and me—" He raised her chin as their eyes met once again, "I happen to like this person."

Zach opened the car door for her, "Well, here we are." He said and looked up at the hotel she was staying in.

"Do you wanna come up and have a drink?" Spencer asked and watched him biting his lips nervously. She waited with a warm smile on her face.

Zach felt the need to return the favor and felt his own lips breaking into a smile. She became his own personal escape, his own silver lining to everything that had happened the past few weeks.

"Uhh…" He glanced back at his car. Facing her, he exhaled sharply and smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Questions: Aria left, and Spencer and Zach met each other? Ezra is doing drugs...on occasion? And Zach is cheating on Aria with Spencer while Aria is cheating on Zach with Ezra?**_

_**Yes, Aria left just for a little bit after the accident with Byron/Mike. Spencer and Zach met each other back in Canada, way before the accident, and are now meeting again in Philly. Ezra...ahahah, yes, I guess you could say that. And lastly, personally, I don't think Zach is cheating on Aria...he hasn't slept with Spencer, they're just talking and spending time together platonically?. I don't know what you would consider that as, but in terms of cheating, I don't think he's done it...yet...or will ever do it with Spencer...you just gotta wait and see. As for Aria, yes, haha, she is definitely cheating on Zach. **_

_**Notinyourlifetimehoney, I'm really sorry to hear that. :(  
**_

_**Thanks for the questions, I do enjoy them. - Queen**_

* * *

_The smile wore off gradually and he let out a sharp exhale, "Probably not a good idea."_

_He had a feeling that after a few drinks with her, he would have trouble resisting the temptation. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to do that to Aria. After what he had done to her family, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did this to her too._

_Nodding, Spencer glanced back and forth, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. Remind me not to answer your calls again." She stepped up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I hope she knows what she has." She said, making him smile._

_Zach waited and watched her go inside the hotel building. A proud smile curled upon his face as he went around the car, ready to go back home._

"I can't do it, man. I'm gonna be out this week." Ezra said over the phone as Wren pressed on about dealing with Toby, "As soon as I come back."

Ezra knew the main reason why Wren wanted to so badly get back at him. One was to please Melissa and second was to please himself. Knowing what Toby had in his hands and his resources, Wren was going to make sure to shake him loose and hope for things to fall out.

Aria watched him throw the phone on the bed, "Did I hear that right?"

Turning to face her, Ezra arched his eyebrows and nodded, "I have to go to a meeting." He informed her, "The board is giving a run-through of the school curriculum for this year—" He exhaled sharply, "It might take a day or two so I'm gonna be staying up there while you get to have this place alone for a bit." He smiled.

"Oh okay." She walked to him. Some time alone. Aria wondered what she would do with it - hopefully something productive.

He touched the sides of her face and bent down a bit, "You should take a walk around the city. This is New York, not Rosewood, remember?"

"Don't tell me what to do. You're not my teacher anymore." She remarked and grinned as he pulled her in for a rough kiss.

_A couple of hours had passed and they decided to stay to see how Mike was doing. It had been a night, a shocking and devastating one, it was only right to stick together for everyone's sake._

_"I thought you were with them." Aria said with her voice still shaky from everything that was happening at the moment. They stayed outside Mike's room, waiting for any news while Ella was inside the room, not wanting to leave her son out of her sight._

_"No, I…I wasn't." Zach told her. His hand went up to the side of her face, brushing it comfortingly then followed it by kissing the top of her head._

_"Why weren't you answering your phone? Zach, I was—" She exhaled sharply, "So fucking scared." She choked the words out as he pulled her in for another embrace._

_"I'm fine. I'm here, aren't I?" He said as his mouth pressed against her head, whispering his words._

_Pulling away, Aria wiped her eyes and looked at him, "Where were you?"_

_Zach looked at her for a moment, unsure of what his answer should be. How could he tell her the truth without it being taken the wrong way? Although the truth really did not give any other interpretations other than he was with a woman he had just met a few hours ago. Zach felt his cheeks becoming flushed._

_After a few beats, he sighed, "There was a riot after the game." He rubbed his mouth, "It was a mess getting out and I thought it would've been better if the guys got out earlier…" He told her, "I don't know." His first big lie and he knew it wasn't going to be the last one, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"_

_"No." She cut him off, "Don't start blaming yourself for this." Aria said and kissed him, "It's not your fault." She said trying her best to smile as her hand lightly touched the back of his head._

_Swallowing hard, Zach simply nodded and kept his arms around her body._

"I'll be here if you need me." She said, waving her phone before him. She was flying to New York for a few days and after that, she was back to Toronto, but this was all depending on her job and where it would take her.

Zach nodded and looked around the station, "You got everything?" He asked, grabbing her luggage.

Laughing softly to herself, "I wish." Spencer told him with a wide smile on her face, "Thanks for coming with me." She added as she took the bag from him.

"No problem."

She carried the bag and took another look at him, "Don't be that guy who never calls."

With a soft smile, Zach shook his head, "I won't. Uh, I mean, I'll call. I promise." He reassured her.

She walked to him and gave him a hug. She tiptoed as her lips moved up closer to his ears, "You've ruined me, you know that?" She whispered.

Tightening his grip around her, "Sorry." He simply said and licked his lips as she pulled away. She walked on not turning back to look at him anymore.

Watching her go felt like he was letting go of what he had been looking for all this time and he knew it was wrong to feel that way, but she really was something. She was an old friend even though they had just met. How was it possible? All he knew was everything felt in place whenever he was with her. He thought about how people tend to have a hard time looking for that one thing, that one person they've always wanted to have, and what was admirable was that they are willing to go through obstacles to see if that someone is it, to test if they're truly for them. While there are others who settle for whatever they can get which he thought was just cowardly. But he was never taught this. How can right be wrong?

Zach put his hands inside his pockets and kept his eyes on Spencer as she boarded the Amtrak train to New York.

"Hi you." She said over the phone. It had been a long day, but she kept herself busy through impulsive shopping. She pulled one of those Hallmark cards that played music once it was opened. It got obnoxious so she closed it instantly.

"Hey." Ezra replied, hoping she could hear the smile in his voice, "Umm, as much as I want to talk, I can't right now. I'm sorry."

"Right, meetings." She nodded and smiled, "But before you go, I just wanted you to know that I bought…" She sucked in some air, "Five of your Hallmark cards just a moment ago." She told him as she gave off a soft laugh.

"You…are trying to kill me." He retorted and shook his head.

"What can I say? I'm a big fan of your work." She grinned and took one of his cards, opening it.

"You are a terrible person." He said and heard her laughter through the call, "Why are you doing this? How did you even know which ones were mine?" He looked up and saw the man in a suit beckoning for him though the glass window. He raised his index finger, implying for another minute.

"Here's one for Friendship—"

"Please stop." He groaned as Aria read him the lines he knew very well and in return, she began to laugh, "I am ending this call right now."

"You'll be back tomorrow? Around when?"

"Noon."

"Okay, sounds good. Go back to your meeting, Mr. Fitz."

"See you soon." He smiled and lifted his eyes to look across the room. He saw the woman he had been waiting for to arrive along with the man dressed in a suit sitting next to her with his folders and suitcase settled on the table. He huffed out a breath, wanting nothing but to get this meeting over with.

Zach grabbed the newspaper and took a seat near the corner of the coffee shop. He saw today's date and remembered that his sick days were running out and he had to go back to work soon. Checking his watch, he thought for a moment then took out his phone.

After a few rings, she finally picked up. Zach smiled, "Hello."

"Wow, that was quick." She chuckled and glanced outside the window.

"I promised, didn't I?" He reached for his coffee, "How's the ride?"

"Shaky." Spencer squirmed in her seat as the train shook continuously, "What are you up to?"

Laughing softly, he took a sip of his drink and unfolded the newspaper in his hand, "Oh, not much. Just got back in Rosewood." He stared at the paper as his eyes skimmed it, "I guess I just wanted to check up on you." He furrowed his brow and asked himself why he just said what he said. Spencer remained quiet at the other end of the call and he could see her smiling to herself right now, "Well, I—" He cleared his throat, "I'll leave you to whatever you were doing—"

"…You're sweet." She finally responded, her head leaning against the headrest, "Keep me company?"

"Sure." He said without hesitating and kept the phone against his ears.

The heat had gotten to her and now she was pressing her fingers against her temples, feeling her head throbbing. Aria opened the door and immediately saw Wren across the room, doing his daily visits, she assumed.

"You again." She sighed out as she walked in, closing the door behind her.

Wren looked up at nervously and fidgeted with the drawer, "I was just leaving."

"Back dealing with Ezra's paperworks?" She questioned sarcastically as Wren made his way to her.

They stood in the living room with Wren moving almost too close to her, "What do you know about the paperworks?"

"Everything." She whispered as he hovered around her, almost intimidating her, "He told me."

He squinted, "Yeah?" He leaned down, inches away from her face, "And?"

"Grow up, Wren. It's Ezra's business, not mine." She said pushing him away, "And I have a massive headache right now and you're not helping whatsoever." She exhaled and headed for the bedroom as he followed, "I could really use some right now." She breathed out.

He looked at her, a little puzzled, "Sex?" He asked as she shot him a glare.

"Is that all you think about?" She snapped at him.

He laughed and realized what she was really wanted, "Enjoy." He said as he tossed the key at her.

"Thanks." She said and smiled a bit, "Want to join me?"

With a deep and tempting breath, he shook his head, "I'll have to take a rain check. I'm on call." He told her, "I could get in some real shit if they find out I'm stoned during duty."

"Right." Aria went around the bed and reached for the drawer under the bed, "Well, go save some lives, doctor." She peered at him while opening the drawer.

"Don't worry though. I'm still holding up on your offer." He said to her and finally left the loft.

Aria shook her head at him and smiled as she glanced at the drawer. She rummaged through it and saw the stash. She took it out and put it on the bed, but something else caught her eyes. Books, pictures, and manila folders. She wasn't expecting to see files. Her eyebrows creased and felt a bit dumbfounded. Wren wasn't lying about the paperworks. Aria hesitantly looked up and saw an empty room then finally took out the folders and some enveloped with letters in it as well.

As she scanned it, her eyes grew bigger as she read on, "What the fuck?…" She sat on the floor and continued to read the papers. Wedding. Mr. Fitz and Mrs. Fitz. More legal documents.

She shut her eyes and swallowed hard. She gathered the papers and put it back inside then took out the book. She opened it and saw pictures of the wedding and Mrs. Fitz carrying a little girl that resembled a lot like the bride. Aria shook her head and quickly threw it back in the drawer, her stomach unable to handle the discovery.

Aria leaned against the bed frame as thoughts raced in her mind.

_"Someone like you without anybody."_

_"Who said I'm not with anybody?"_

She felt foolish and used. She wondered if he really was in a meeting right now. A meeting that would take two days? And if it was true, Aria realized it was for a completely different reason.


	9. Chapter 9

"I don't fucking have anything." Toby retorted as Wren and Ezra cornered him. They had caught him at a perfect time and were glad that Jenna wasn't around to see this.

"You expect us to believe that?" Wren snapped back and twisted Toby's arms behind him. He looked up at Ezra who was standing in front of him with his hand gripping Toby's shirt collar.

Toby smirked, "You're really doing this for that girl?" He said and fixed his eyes on Ezra, "She that good of a fuck?"

Wren looked at Ezra, awaiting his reaction. Before he could blink, Toby felt his head throwing back as the pain stung his nose and his upper lip, feeling the trace of Ezra's knuckles against it.

"It doesn't have to be this complicated, Toby." Ezra said and sneered at his bloody nose, "Show us where it is." His grip getting tighter and tighter and his patience growing shorter; he really needed to get back home. It was already dark and he promised Aria that he was coming back around late afternoon.

"Fuck, alright!" Toby choked out, giving in, "It's under the floorboard." He directed his eyes at the floor about fifteen feet away.

Wren and Ezra exchanged glances. After their tacit agreement, Ezra loosened his grip and walked to the area where Toby pointed. Wren clasped Toby's arms, making sure he wasn't going anywhere. They watched as Ezra tore up the already loose floorboard and took out a couple of bags.

"You have no idea how heartbroken Jenna will be when she finds out that you're still doing this shit." Wren whispered to him.

"Don't tell her." Toby said, his voice changing to a softer tone. He had made her a promise that he wouldn't get into this mess again knowing how much she had sacrificed to get him out and how much she had to deal with people in order to protect him.

Ezra ambled back to them, "I think we're good." He said looking at Wren then threw a bag at him. Wren freed Toby's arm who grimaced at the sudden release.

"Are you gonna tell her?" Toby said and for a second, he almost seemed like a little kid. Toby covered his nose as he watched the guys.

Shaking his head, Wren smiled and tapped his shoulder, "No. You're good."

As they stormed out of the apartment, Wren looked at Ezra and his button down down shirt, "Got blood on you, mate."

"I know." Ezra looked down at his sleeve, "…Ruined one of my good shirts." He added as Wren grinned.

Leaning against the car with her arms crossed above her chest, Melissa finally threw the lit cigarette on the ground as she watched the guys heading in her direction. She stepped on the cigarette and went around the vehicle, opening the driver's side.

"Uh-uh." Wren shook his head at his girlfriend, "You're not driving. You're already half-fucked." He told her and gestured for the car keys.

Rolling her eyes, Melissa tossed the keys at him and got in the backseat.

"Save some for us, alright?" Ezra smirked and threw one of the small bags at Melissa as she smiled and playfully flashed him the middle finger.

"Your place?" Wren asked Ezra who complied with a nod.

The loft was quiet as it always was, but the lights were left on so he knew Aria was home.

"Aria?" He called out, glancing over at the place. He furrowed his brow at her carry-on bag near the couch. Looking up, he saw Aria walking toward him, "What's going on?"

"We need—" Aria pressed her lips together as her eyes landed on Wren and Melissa.

"About that offer." Wren cut in and pulled Melissa along with him as they invited themselves into the living room, "Still up for it?" He smirked back at Aria.

"Is she alright?" Aria asked, glancing back and forth at Wren and a giddy Melissa.

"She's just got a head start." Wren nodded, puzzling Aria for a moment.

Aria watched them as they set up the table with drinks and the little present they took from Toby. There were two couches across from each other in the middle of the living room. Melissa, sitting on the floor, stayed on the opposite side.

Aria copied Melissa and settled herself on the floor with her legs crossed in front of her while Wren was fooling around with the stereo, turning on some upbeat music.

Ezra sat on the couch, quietly observing Aria, trying to figure out what was going on between them. He had a feeling something was wrong, but she was avoiding any chances for the two of them to talk instead she kept herself busy with Wren and Melissa.

Sighing, Melissa sat back and tipped her head up, sniffing hard for a second. She turned to Aria and smiled, "You're up."

"Melissa—" Ezra glared and touched Aria's shoulder, stopping her for a second.

"Oh for fuck's sake Ezra." Melissa snapped back. Ezra ignored her, knowing that she wasn't thinking right anymore.

Shrugging his hand off, Aria turned to look back at him and shook her head, "Don't." She said coldly as he furrowed his brow.

"C'mon, mate, let the tiny one do what she wants." Wren chimed in, finally coming back to sit back down with them. He grabbed one of the drinks from the table, taking a big swig of it and watched the girls before him.

And after a little while, Ezra stayed seated on his couch, watching them interact as they finished off with a few drinks. He had a hard time letting her do this. There was one thing that kept her distinct from others - her innocence or what was left of it. Seeing her like this, it felt as if he was taking that all away and he was to blame for. Smoking a blunt with her was a one-time thing, but doing blow was crossing a line - his line that he drew for her.

"Come here." Melissa said in a drunken slur and beckoned Aria with a sultry smile. Meanwhile, Wren playfully bobbed his head along with the loud music and at Ezra, quietly egging him on to join in. Wren knew him well and saw the hungry look in his eyes, knowing that he wanted in too but he was just being a pain in the ass about it. Wren kept staring and bobbing, seeing how far his friend was willing to bend before breaking.

Ezra rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit left out by their sudden utopia. He shook his head, "Fuck it." He finally sat down with them, taking his turn at the perfect blow that was neatly cut into a line on the glass table.

"Bloody hell." Wren exclaimed as he watched Melissa grabbing Aria's face, kissing her very roughly while Aria laughed softly, remaining submissive to Melissa's tight hold. In return, Aria wrapped her fingers around Melissa's hair and kissed her back just as hard.

Sitting back, the men became fixated by the sight in front of them. Melissa pulled Aria up, forcing her to sit on the couch.

"She's a little minx, isn't she?" Wren said to Ezra as he pointed at Aria.

He arched his eyebrows, "I'm not sure what that makes your girlfriend, but she sure as hell isn't holding anything back either." Ezra stated as they watched the girls across from them.

Wren wiped his sweaty forehead and huffed a breath as he remained in awe. Now, he was starting to get fidgety and all he wanted to do was jump in and join in the fun.

"Oh, what am I doing?" Aria asked herself, looking up at the ceiling with a wide smile on her face. She leaned her head against the couch as Melissa stood up, grabbing Aria's shirt and pulling it over her head then she knelt back down again in front of her. She wasn't sure yet if she was going to regret this tomorrow, along with a massive hangover, but everything felt heavenly and she could feel her heart beating out of her chest and the sweat rolling down her neck. She glanced down as Melissa began to kiss around her navel.

Ezra exhaled sharply, forcing himself to enjoy this and he should have been since this was every man's dream; a sight like this didn't come so often. He raised his head at Wren who stood up with a drink in his hand and approached the girls. Wren walked behind the couch and stood above Aria with a smile. Putting the bottle on the floor, Wren bent over and lightly held Aria's chin, tipping it back and leaning in for an upside down kiss.

He couldn't help but glare although he knew better not to. His friends' morals were temporarily impaired, seeing how they were drunk and coked out of their minds. Following Wren's lead, Ezra took one final sip of his beer and walked over to the girls' couch.

His head settled beside her as he continued to thrust slowly. Aria licked her lips and hated Wren's short hair for a moment because there was not much to pull on. The bed bounced back as Melissa and Ezra fell into it, joining the other two.

"Fuck, c'mon." Melissa lay on her back, pulling Ezra closer to her. Unlike the other two, Melissa was starting to get impatient with Ezra. She was used to being the aggressive one and being with him, she had to fight for the dominance for a moment.

Ezra swallowed hard and tried his best to concentrate on Melissa, but something was pulling his attention away from the sex, compelling him to watch Aria who remained beside him, just inches away.

Aria moved her head to the side, shooting Ezra a killing glare, "Harder." She whispered to Wren without pulling her eyes away from Ezra.

It was as if she was coaxing him into a silent argument. He lowered his eyebrows and stared at Aria's piercing side stare as Melissa, in her own oblivion, worked on Ezra, trying to pull him closer to her. With full strength, Ezra grabbed Melissa and turned them both around, ultimately allowing her to take charge as she stayed on top on him.

Lifting herself up, Aria wrapped her hands around Wren's head, slowly sitting up.

"Fucking hell…" Wren breathed out as they moved in a different position. Aria secured her legs around his back as Wren hid his face between her chest with her hands wrapped around his head.

Ezra bit his lips and glanced at Melissa who was selfishly bringing herself to her own high then back at Aria, just across from him.

She kissed the side of Wren's face as her eyes peered at Ezra, the icy gleam in her eyes still not going away. Aria saw a glimpse of his anger slowly spewing out and knew he was beginning to get jealous and flustered by the looks she had been darting at him.

Shortly after, she was on her back again as Wren finished and rolled over to the edge of the bed, catching his breath. He moved away from her, inevitably hitting the floor. Melissa leaned forward, sighing and quickly getting off of Ezra.

Ezra moved his head to the side to take a look at Aria. Licking his lips, he smoothly settled above her before she could escape. Aria glanced behind him and saw the other couple meeting up to continue on with their sex.

"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" He demanded and lunged in for a quick kiss. His hand searched for her thigh, wanting it to be around his hips, just the way she preferred.

"Get off of me." Aria whispered as she moved her lips closer to his.

"No." He took her one of her wrists and held it to the side as her other hand balled up into a tight fist and pushed against his chest, "Not until you tell me." He clenched his jaw and grabbed her thigh with his free hand and gave a thrust, making her cry out softly as she lifted her head, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. He continued on as she gave in, biting his neck in return.

"Did you have fun—" She whispered into his ears, "_Fucking_ your wife?"

Ezra pulled his head back and looked at her with his creased eyebrows, "You don't know what the hell you're saying."

"You're such a fucking liar." She snapped at him, pulling her wrist away.

"I'm not the only one." He spat back angrily.

Aria's hand pushed his chest away, "Fuck you."

"Fuck me?" Ezra repeated and bit his lips as his eyebrows furiously met in the middle. He grabbed the bed sheets near her head, fisting it as he moved above her, thrusting harder than before.

She hissed out another swear with closed eyes as her teeth grazed over his shoulder. Her hand pressed against the headboard as Ezra continued on relentlessly. It only took very little effort for them to reach their peak especially with all their anger and heightened energy.

Ezra closed his eyes tightly and let himself off by freeing her from his weight. Aria glanced at him and shook her head before getting up to rush to the bathroom.

"Fuck." Ezra said under his breath and ran his hand through his hair as he followed her naked body with his tired eyes. This time, he was going to set things straight as he should have had moments ago.

After a short while, he pressed his head against the door as Aria stayed inside, not wiling to open it.

"Fuck off, Ezra." Aria said through the door and he could hear the shake in her voice.

Ezra shook the doorknob, "Open the door, Aria." He said and shook it once again, "You can't be serious about locking me out of my own place." He pointed out, his voice sounding calmer.

Breathing hard, Aria glared at him as she stayed behind the slightly open door that separated them. As soon as she stepped back, Ezra swung the door open and closed it behind him, slamming it hard.

"How could you?" She started as she took a few steps back until she felt the cold granite counter against her lower back.

"How could I what?"

"You have a fucking wife? All this time?" She said as he raised his head instinctively upon hearing the keyword.

"Will you calm down?"

She took a moment and followed his order then slowly breathed out, "Did you go up there to meet her?"

He sighed and tilted his head, "Yes, I did." He replied as she scoffed, almost in disgust, "Aria, it's not like that."

"I—" She exhaled sharply and gestured with her hand, pointing at herself, "I don't wanna be that person who ruins someone else's marriage. I don't wanna ruin _anybody's _relationship." She licked her lips and shook her head in remorse, "I've already ruined mine."

"You're not ruining anything." He moved closer to her, "You're right. I did go up there to meet her but—" He rubbed his forehead, "But because I had to." Ezra paused for a second, "Aria, she's not my wife anymore."

Aria furrowed her brow, "You have a daughter…"

He let out a light chuckle, "No…" He drew in a breath, "You gotta stop jumping to conclusions because they're all wrong." He told her, "The whole thing was a mistake. A rushed one."

"Just like how this is." She added and kept quiet for a moment.

"Is that what you think?"

"…You were still married when we met again." Aria said, half-questioning.

"Yes, but…I never felt married to her. Maybe on the wedding day, but everything else was…" He shrugged lightly, "She's been wanting to meet up so we can sign the divorce papers but I never cared for it until now."

"Why? Why now?"

Ezra tilted his side, "You tell me." He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her, "And for the record, you haven't ruined your relationship." He pulled away and looked at her, "He doesn't know."

"Yeah…" Aria replied, "But _I_ know." She added with her voice trailing off filled with guilt and disappointment.

He pursed his lips and arched his eyebrows in slight agreement. He flashed a crooked smile, "Come back to bed?" He asked softly, slowly reaching for her hands. He waited for her response while she stood there in silence with a furrowed brow and lowered head.

A moment later, she looked up at him, "Why do I listen to you?" She asked with sincerity in her voice.

He smiled, "Because you would rather leave all the decision-making to me…in order to avoid the responsibility that comes along with it once you do end up deciding." He answered as Aria sucked in her lower lip as she stared at him quietly, speechless, "Did I hit that nail on the head?"

"Fucking built a house with it."

He chuckled and rubbed his chin, "You've made this fight very conflicting for me."

"What do you mean?"

Ezra grinned and glanced up and down at her. He needed to focus on their situation, but he couldn't effortlessly do it while she stood there, stark naked, "This." He said, gesturing at her body as his eyes danced around, "And that. And those."

"Yeah, well…" Aria chuckled, "I don't usually enjoy fighting with you either." She smacked her lips, "But that sex was amazing."

"Isn't it always?" He added and saw her make an opposing face, making him laugh for a second, "It was, wasn't it?" He said and gleamed at her, "We should fight more often then."

"I feel a fight coming on right now."

"Yeah?" Ezra smiled as they stepped closer to each other. He lifted her up and settled her down on the counter.

The cold granite counter pierced her skin, but soon the feeling went away. Aria grabbed the side of his face and kissed him.

Pulling away from her, Ezra lifted his eyes to have another chance to look at her. He took a deep breath in and slowly smiled. She was breathtaking even after what happened tonight and he wanted to take it all in, every detail of her face just as it was now.

Sighing, Aria brought up her hand and covered his eyes, shaking her head, "You can't start looking at me like that."

"It's the only way I know how to look at you." He pointed out, his eyes still being covered by her tiny hand, but he didn't protest.

Lowering her eyebrows, Aria swallowed hard as she looked at him then his mouth. Without taking her hand away from his eyes, she leaned down, pressing her lips against his for a tender and long kiss just so she didn't have to say anything else. What was even more terrifying was that she might say those three little words she had promised herself not to.


	10. Chapter 10

Aria glanced back at the bedroom where Ezra and Wren slept soundly and buck naked next to each other.

"Here, this will help." Melissa handed her a fresh cup of coffee as they walked toward the bedroom. They stood before the bed where the men lay lifelessly and both snoring softly.

Aria smiled and took the offer, "Thanks." She took a small sip, careful not to burn her tongue, "You know, we could set this place on fire and they still wouldn't feel a thing." She stated, still staring at the men.

"Wanna try?" Melissa jested and grinned at Aria's short laugh. Melissa walked over to Wren's side and shook her head, "They're disgusting, aren't they? I can't believe we sleep with these..." She furrowed her brow and sneered at Wren's butt, "Cavemen." She lifted her foot and poked him with her big toe, attempting to wake him up.

Chuckling to herself, Aria took another sip, "I guess we're just very enduring." She said as Melissa moved around the room.

She headed for Ezra's work desk and grabbed a pen and a post-it note. After finishing her writing, she went back to Wren and stuck the note on his forehead, "C'mon." Melissa said as she turned toward the living room, "I need breakfast."

Aria could hear her getting her keys and saw that she was going out to grab something to eat, "What about the guys?"

"Fuck them." Melissa bluntly said and put the mug on the coffee table.

"Didn't we already?" Aria remarked as Melissa shot her a look then very quickly, Aria followed her out the door.

After a couple of hours, Ezra groaned softly and turned himself around. He squinted and saw Wren's face inches from him, "Hey." His hand rose and pushed Wren away, "Get off my bed." He said as Wren slowly woke himself up. Ezra furrowed his brow at the note on his forehead and inevitably took it, reading it to himself.

"Screaming is unnecessary." Wren groggily said, his voice husky and dry.

Ezra propped his head to take a quick scan of the room. He turned to Wren and after seeing his face, Ezra was glad he didn't get as drunk as the rest. Wren was scrunching up his face and covering his head as his hangover continued to torment him.

"I only did it for his amusement. A reward in a way." Melissa continued on talking about last night.

Aria squinted at her, "A reward for what?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Melissa revealed her left hand across the table. The engagement ring fitted snugly around her finger.

"Wow, that's stunning. Why didn't I see this last night?" Aria touched Melissa's hand with smile, "Congratulations!" She said and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah, about fucking time he did it." Melissa added and pulled her hand back.

Aria chuckled softly, "He proposed to you and you decided to celebrate by having a foursome?"

"Again, for his amusement."

"You guys must have been together long."

"Six years."

Looking at Melissa's glowing and radiant face, Aria smiled quietly to herself and wished for the same thing; spending all that time with the same person, happily and inevitably, unhappily. But it was the years that brought two people together and even if they became distant, it was the years they couldn't undo because within those years, there were moments, given some were more memorable than others.

Approaching the table, Ezra gripped the pan as Wren moved his plate closer, "Thank you for telling Aria about my marital status, by the way." Ezra said as he slid the pan toward Wren's plate, letting the scrambled egg slide off, "Because she _really_ needed to know about that." He said sarcastically and returned to the stove.

Wren studied his face, "I can't decipher sarcasm so early in the morning." He said then groaned at his plate, "Also, it's not my fault. The tiny one had me fooled." He said calmly and looked up at Ezra who had his back turned, busy cooking another set of eggs, "Speaking of marital status, I proposed to her."

"Who?" Ezra asked automatically.

"Who fuckin' else, you wit?"

Ezra slowly turned around to face him and remained quiet for a moment then he gave a little nod, "Good for you, man." He said as his face remained stoic upon hearing the news. After receiving a smile from Wren, Ezra retreated to his cooking.

Shaking his head, Wren didn't feed on to his lack of enthusiasm. He didn't expect much from him really, knowing how his own marriage turned out, "Alright, perhaps this might better news for you...Melissa and I thought it'd be nicer if we have your party and the engagement party together."

Swiftly turning to look at him again, Ezra grinned, "The more, the merrier." He replied, loving the idea. He gave people trouble about throwing him a party that Melissa practically had to drag and convince him into having one. Ezra wasn't much of an attention seeker especially not when the spotlight was bound to be on him all night merely for turning another year older.

Melissa and Aria had an unspoken understanding as they continued to browse the store. The breakfast had quickly turned into shopping particularly for Ezra's birthday.

She sighed as she held a book in her hand, pondering for a moment.

"Not sure what to get him?" Melissa said, walking behind her.

"Hmm?" Aria replied and put the book back on the shelf, "Yeah. I tend to take these things too seriously." She said turning around, "It'd be a lot easier if I could just get him a pair of socks or a bottle of wine, right?" She said with a smile.

"I don't think he would really mind. Isn't that why you came here?" Melissa pointed out as Aria gave her a quizzical look, "I thought you _were_ his present." She kept a straight face on, showing Aria that she was not joking, "I'll take as a no." Melissa said, guessing her way through it.

"No." She forced a brief smile, "That's a definite no." Aria finally said.

"So, what are you, really?" Melissa pressed on as they walked around the store, touching things on the shelf nonchalantly.

Aria kept her eyes on the shelf, avoiding any eye contact with Melissa. Being reminded of what she was doing was making her feel uncomfortable and dirty, "I don't know." Aria finally responded, keeping her voice soft and low.

"I think I might be staying here for a while." Spencer said as she sat on her bed with her back against the headboard.

"Why's that?" Zach asked. He ambled around the apartment, feeling its own emptiness that took over the place. He missed her and wanted to call her, but he knew she needed some time on her own. Now, he was realizing that Spencer was some sort of temporary replacement to cope with his own loneliness although he truly wished it didn't feel that way.

"I guess I just miss the city."

"You're not even from there." Zach reminded her, making her chuckle.

"But I have a family here."

Zach furrowed his brow, "A family?"

"Not that kind of family." Spencer quickly said, "I meant family as in...well, family."

"No, I know. Of course." He said nodding to himself, feeling a bit embarrassed for even thinking that she would keep something that big a secret. He was comfortable knowing that she really was as honest as she made herself out to be. At least that was what he wanted to believe.

"You could come by for a visit." Spencer suggested, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.

"To New York?"

"That's where I am."

"I'd love to." Zach answered, "But they need me to come back to work and I don't think I can take any more days off."

Spencer's phone beeped, "Well, some other time then." She said, "Hey, I've got another call coming in. Continue this later?"

"Sure."

Ezra placed his hand on her lower back as they hurriedly walked to the escalator that led down to the subway. It was Saturday and even more crowded than usual.

"Where are we goin'?" Aria asked while Ezra quickly walked in front of her, taking the first step on the escalator.

"Why do you always want to know?" He told her with a smile as she carefully followed him, staying one step behind.

She looked down, towering over him, "Last time I asked, you practically seduced me." Aria said, feeling both of his hands holding her waist.

"I think we're way past seduction." Ezra wiggled his eyebrow and softly smirked at her, pulling her in a bit. His head tipped up, asking for it so she shook her head with a smile and leaned down, giving him a kiss as the escalator continued to climb down smoothly.

The ride gave one strong and sudden shake causing Aria to stagger for a second. Ezra smiled and stood closer to her as they both held the metal pole right in the center of the doors. He knew she didn't have that much experience with riding subways, but what could he really expect from someone that came from small, suburban town?

Ezra brushed himself against her, moving both of his arms and trapping her between them so if she were to lose her balance, she wouldn't end up on the floor. His knees bent a little as his face slowly advanced for hers.

"Not here." Aria whispered. She gave a quick side glance and saw a pool of people hovering over each other.

"Being a bit paranoid, aren't we?" He whispered back and looked down at her wary face, "Nobody is going to see you here, Aria." He said as she let out a deep sigh, "Relax." Ezra said, touching her chin for a moment then dipping in for a kiss.

They entered the restaurant. It was closing time so the place kept its lights dim, giving off a warm ambiance.

"I didn't know you were coming in!" The woman, just around Aria's age, approached them.

Ezra smiled and came in for a hug, "Aria-" He said, pulling back and turning to her, "This is the co-owner, Emily Fields." He said with a hand gesture.

"Just Emily." Emily corrected. Her dimple on her left cheek flashed each time she smiled and her silky long dark hair spilled all over her shoulder, "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Aria said with a soft smile. She took a mental note of Emily's face; she just definitely earned a place on Aria's list of beautiful people.

"Come, I'll show you around the back and we can talk about what the plans are for your special day." She said, directing toward Ezra then led the way.

"You have a knack for keeping attractive female friends close, don't you?" Aria whispered to him as they followed Emily.

"So what if I do?" He whispered back with a smug smile.

A phone started ringing as they sat, talking about the catering for the birthday-engagement party. Emily glanced at Aria who pulled out her phone.

"Sorry, I have to take this." She announced, "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, go ahead." Ezra nodded and watched her trail off toward the back door. He returned to Emily and saw she was writing something on her notebook.

"New girl for Fitzy?" Emily said, not looking up at him. She could feel his eyes rolling at her comment, "Looks very young."

"Your age." He cleared his throat, "Actually." He told her, finally making her look up.

"You flatter me." Emily snapped back. There came a beat and Emily arched her eyebrows, "You're not kidding."

"Alright. Alright. Can we get back to this?" He gestured at her notebook, "I came here to talk business not-" He stopped, seemingly loss for words. He wondered what he and Aria had, what he could call it. It was clearly not a one-night stand, but surely not a relationship either.

"Not what?"

"Nothing else."

Emily squinted at him then quickly brought her eyes back onto her book, "So, red velvet or plain?" After a long silence, she rolled her eyes, "Red velvet it is." Emily concluded as she wrote the word in her notebook.

"What kind of mother would I be if I didn't check up on my only daughter?"

Aria smiled to herself. She knew sooner or later Ella would call; she would have been more worried, hurt even, if she didn't at all, "I'm just..." Aria started and sighed, "I'm here...in good hands."

"Whose hands exactly? Hanna Marin's, I presume?"

She swallowed hard and was shocked at her mother's ability to remember her social life when she couldn't even remember most of it herself. After hearing her friend's name, Aria had remembered about Hanna moving to New York with some guy who apparently had a one in a million set of hair. Aria trusted her friend's instinct and hoped that she had a good head on her shoulders especially if she was going to spend her life with that Caleb guy.

"Oh, I actually haven't had the chance to visit her." She admitted. She wished she could lie to her mother easily, but being the only two left in their family - she couldn't possibly risk lying to the woman she loved all her life,"I probably should though, right?" She let out a nervous chuckle, attempting to derail the conversation.

"If you need to." Ella told her, "It sounds like you're doing well. Could this possibly mean you're coming home soon?"

Aria's finger wandered off to her forehead, slowly rubbing it, "Definitely."

"That's wonderful, sis!" Spencer exclaimed as she crossed over to the living room so she could go to her computer and check the restaurant's address.

"You better be booking up a flight right now." Melissa said, "Two days, Spence. I will disown you if you forget. I will make Mom and Dad disown you as well."

Grinning to herself, Spencer nodded, "Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm already in the city." She revealed.

She truly was happy for Melissa getting engaged. Spencer was fond of Wren; he was a gentleman and he always got along with her just fine. It was about time he sealed the deal with her older sister once and for all.

"_Someone else_ finally got in touch with you, huh?" Ezra brought up as he shut the window blinds, "I guess he does care after all."

Aria took off her heels as she sat on the edge of the bed, "Don't, Ezra." She said, a little irritated. She didn't like the way his connotations were always negative whenever he brought up her other man in her life especially not when he sounded right about him, just for now. Aria couldn't actually blame Zach for not calling seeing how she had told him not to in her farewell note.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you are actually." Aria snapped back, turning around to glare at him.

He flashed a crooked smile and walked up to her, "Which part?" He asked and reached for her waist, pulling her closer.

"Both."

"So..." He slowly knelt behind her, his hands roaming her shoulders, "It wasn't him on the phone? Was it Ella?"

"Mhm." She nodded, finally moving to face him, "Speaking of getting in touch with someone, what's the news on your brother?"

"Half-brother." He corrected her once again and let his hand go around her back, reaching for her bra.

"I'm not kidding."

Ezra pressed his lips together, expressing his guilt, "I haven't made any attempts...of calling him." He said slowly, knowing she would be a bit angry.

"You promised me you would." She retorted and sighed, "It's in two days, Ezra."

"I'm quite aware."

"Well..." She smacked her lips together and grabbed his hand, pushing it away, "I hope you're also quite aware that I'm going to sleep right now." She said and in one fluid motion, she lay herself down with her back turned to him.

"Aww, such a crank." He moved next to her, propping himself up, "I will find him and call him tomorrow."

"I have to get up early."

He furrowed his brow, "What for?"

"I'm meeting a friend." Aria smiled as she turned around, "You remember my friend Hanna, right?"

"I moved to a different state, Aria. I didn't become senile."

"Could have fooled me." She remarked with a grin and in a flash, Ezra playfully pounced on top of her and secured his legs on either side of her body.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Alexis: Are you thinking about making Aria and Zach meet each other? I'm getting crazy because of it. I am picturing them soon and please do NOT ignore me,okay?**_

_**Hahaha, you just gotta wait...**_

_**- Queen**_

* * *

His fingertips slowly brushed against her bare skin, following the curve of her waist. Ezra laid his eyes on her as she slept through the morning. Licking his lips, Ezra gingerly moved and rolled on top of her, lightly kissing the side of her face.

"Mmm…" Aria let out and slowly shifted, her eyes meeting the glaring sun through the windows, "Shit." She said, squinting, "What time is it?" She pushed him away, "Fuck, why didn't you wake me up?"

"For selfish reasons." He jested and pulled up the blanket, sitting up with his back against the headboard. He watched Aria getting out of bed and heading to the dresser.

"You knew I had to get up early!" She grumbled, rummaging through the heaps of clothes. She looked back and saw him staring at her with a foolish grin on his face, "Ugh." She rolled her eyes at him, "I swear, you're such a kid sometimes."

She entered the cafe with her head sticking up, looking for Hanna. Aria saw a hand waving up at her from across the room. With a sudden smile, Aria lit up at the sight of an old friend, finding comfort in it.

"I'm sorry, I got a little bit caught up this morning." Aria quickly excused as she nervously tucked in a strand of hair behind her ear, "Have I kept you waiting? I'm so sorry—"

Hanna got up from her seat, "Aria, chill." She said bluntly, "I got all the time in the world." She said and walked toward her, her arms wrapping around her.

"Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in forever?" Aria said, tightening her grip around Hanna's body.

They pulled back and took their seats, "Because it _has_ been forever." Hanna answered, "Is it okay if Caleb joins us? He has his day off so he might be on his way right about now…"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem." Aria smiled, "Still with him, huh?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hanna exclaimed with a side smirk.

"Absolutely nothing, I was just—"

"I know." Hanna cut in and nodded, "And you? Still with Zach?"

"Still with Zach." Aria repeated after her.

"Oh so, he's here. Well, why didn't you bring him along?"

Aria's mouth slightly opened before answering, "Uhh, no, he's in Rosewood." She licked her lips, "At the moment. Work." She looked at Hanna and forced a smile.

Rubbing his eyes hard, Ezra continued to rummage through some of his old files and notebooks inside a box that he had left in the closet. So far, the box contained pictures, binders, and piles of paper from the school; not the things he wanted to find. Finding his brother wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

He closed the box and pushed it back inside. Then he grabbed a smaller box and started going through it. This seemed more like the personal items he expected to see. Grabbing a small and dusty album, Ezra opened it and went page by page.

Minutes flew by and Ezra found himself sitting on the floor going through each album, reminiscing picture after picture. He knew he was getting sidetracked, but he enjoyed the trip down to memory lane nevertheless. As he flipped through the pages, a little picture slipped out of the book. Ezra followed it and lowered his eyebrows as he finally got a clear look at it. With a light chuckle, he kept the picture between his fingers, turned it to see its back as he shut the book with the other hand.

After a little thinking, he exhaled sharply, "Ezra, you dumbass." He whispered under his breath as he reached for his back pocket, taking out his phone.

Aria's eyes followed Hanna who walked out of the restaurant to meet Caleb. Her phone began to ring loudly causing her to jump a bit. With an embarrass look on her face, Aria glanced over at the people while her hand blindly searched her purse.

"Hello?" Aria quickly answered, pressing her ear against the phone.

His finger scrolled down on a list of message archives from his e-mail, "Hey you. How's lunch going?" Ezra asked as he squinted at a particular message, realizing what it was.

"Pretty good."

"Where are you?"

"Why?"

Ezra smiled, "Because you're not the only one who needs to eat."

"Tell her I said congratulations." Zach said over the phone. He leaned back against his chair and listened to Spencer's voice as she began to speak.

"Why don't you tell her yourself? Perhaps in person." She implied, her smile could be heard through her voice.

Zach chuckled softly, "Still on that, huh?"

"_You_ try going to an engagement party without a date and see how you like it." She pointed out.

"So now, you're just using me."

"Oh, I thought you knew this all along." She jested, "Three hours away. One party. One free admission per guest. And free food. What's it gotta hurt?"

Sighing softly, Zach leaned back in and let his eyes focus on the computer screen with a picture of himself and Aria. It wasn't what it was going to hurt, it was who.

"I'll be right back." Aria said, putting her purse on top of the table, "Watch my bag for me."

Hanna and Caleb watched her head to the bathroom. Caleb turned to Hanna and let out a smirk, "Is she always that…fidgety?"

Furrowing her brow, Hanna stared at Caleb, "They're just nerves."

"Well, she has a lot of 'em." He replied.

"Don't be a jerk, Caleb."

Laughing to himself, Caleb raised his eyebrows, "Fine, but you need to tell your girl to ease up on the caffeine." He said, pointing at her drink.

"We haven't seen each other for a while, that's all." Hanna rolled her eyes and turned away from Caleb to look at the door.

"Yeah, well, I don't think that's—"

"Holy shit." Hanna interrupted, her voice going into a loud whisper as she widened her eyes at the her old high school teacher walking straight in. Her hand gripped Caleb's forearm as she stared straight across the room, her eyes glued on Ezra.

"What?" Caleb inevitably turned his head and looked for something out of place, but after seeing nothing, he turned to Hanna, "What?" He repeated then turned around again, "What are we looking at?"

Ezra smiled widely and saw her fixing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror. Shortly after, her eyes saw his reflection making her face him.

"What the hell are you doing in a woman's bathroom?" Aria said, "Ezra! I told you to wait outside."

"I'm not a dog." He remarked and walked to her, "And if I were, it wouldn't change a thing because I didn't see a 'No pets allowed' sign outside. Come here." He smiled and cupped her face, giving her a long kiss.

"I only have a few minutes." She muttered against his mouth as he picked her up and led them both into one of the stalls, "This is such a bad idea." Aria added, her head shaking as he continued to kiss her hard.

Hanna laughed, "Mr. Fitz." She told him, "Mr. Fitz? English teacher? Rosewood? Ringing any bells?"

Caleb wrinkled his face, "No, no bells."

"Oh right, you spent most of your time in detention. What in the world is he doing here?" Hanna continued, "I mean, I knew he lived in New York, but what are the chances, right?" Her words stumbled into one another with such excitement that Hanna shot up from her seat with a wide grin on her face.

"Whoa, where you goin'?" Caleb asked, seemingly more alert, "Han, stalking your former teacher is not a very appealing impression and—"

"Quiet! Aria needs to know."

"Why does she need to know?" He was even more puzzled now.

Hanna slowly looked at her boyfriend and bit her lip, realizing that the whole relationship back then was not something for the public. She shrugged, "…Just wanna see if she still remembers him."

His palm pressed against the smooth wall and the other hand gripped her thigh, keeping her up against the wall.

"Hmm." Aria moaned against mouth as she pulled on his hair. The way her jeans fell around her ankles made it hard for them to maneuver each other, but Ezra kept on; her belt made a jangling sound each thrust he gave.

With her arms wrapping around his head, Aria felt herself getting closer. She buried her face inside her arms and the side of his face as she let out a soft finishing gasp.

Ezra freed his hand and went up to her hair, grabbing a fistful of it as he nudged her face, wanting to sneak in some kisses. As their lips met, Ezra felt hers curling into a smile, making him laugh softly, just right before the sound of the door interrupted them.

"Shit." Aria whispered, her hand going up to Ezra's mouth to stifle whatever sound he was going to make, "Someone's coming." She listened in, her eyes looking to the side, waiting for anything.

"Aria." Hanna called out while the sound of the water running continued in the background. Ezra looked at Aria and nudged her hand with his mouth for a second, gesturing her to answer back.

Tipping her head back, Aria sighed quietly, "Yeah?" She said then cleared her throat.

"You won't guess who just came."

A little short cough came out from Ezra's throat, "Oh?" She replied and glared at Ezra who kept his tiny chuckle trapped inside, "Try me."

Hanna glanced back at the stall then back to the mirror, "Ezra fucking Fitz!" She exclaimed, "You should have seen him. Still sexy as he was back then…" Hanna looked at herself and pondered for a second, "It must be the whole older man kind of thing. You would know." She let out a light chortle, "He may have actually gotten sexier now, but I only caught a glimpse of him. I think you'd have to judge for yourself."

Aria pressed her hand harder against his mouth to stop him from chuckling. She didn't find it amusing that only several feet away stood her chance of getting caught by her own friend.

"Really?" Aria said, "I highly doubt that." She added, feeling Ezra's mouth react sourly against her palm.

"Hey, if he's still here, why not invite him for lunch with us?" She suggested, "It'll be fun. Interesting at best."

"Uhh—I thought this was supposed to be us catching up with each other?" Arching her eyebrows, "I don't know, Hanna."

"Oh, c'mon. It'll be fun. Plus, you guys kinda have a history." She said in a singsong voice as she leaned in closer to the mirror, checking her mascara.

"Mhm-mhm." Ezra muffled against her palm as he nodded continuously.

"No." Aria blurted out, answering Ezra now, "I don't wanna bother him." She excused, seeing Ezra tilt his head at her.

"Fine. I'll ask him."

"Hanna…"

"Oh, c'mon. Your old secret ex-boyfriend and high school teacher dropping in where you're having lunch with your high school friend. That is not a coincidence and you can't pass up the chance. You just can't."

Aria shut her eyes, "Why do I get the feeling that no matter what I'm gonna say next wouldn't change your mind anyway…"

"Because it won't." Hanna smiled at her own reflection and her stubbornness, "Hurry up before he leaves." She turned around and looked at one of the stalls, trying to figure out which one she was in. With a furrowed brow, Hanna glanced at a pair of worn out men's shoes inside out of the stalls.

Looking at Ezra, she rolled her eyes, "Oh, something tells me he won't." She whispered just between the two of them while the sound of Hanna's heels trailed off followed by a door shutting.

Aria cleared her throat as she forced a smile at the couple in front of her. She reached for her bag and finally took a seat across from them. She noticed Hanna scoping out the restaurant, hunting for Ezra. She really was determined.

"Hanna, can we please not do this?" Aria begged and let out a deep breath as she saw Ezra walking out of the bathroom hallway and making his way through the restaurant, deliberately taking a route that would pass by their table. Aria put her elbow on the table, moving her head away as her hand rubbed the back of her neck.

Caleb squinted at Aria and grinned, "Starting to regret ever being her friend, huh?"

Aria looked up and forced another smile, "Just about." She said and saw Ezra getting closer causing her to look back down the table again, subtly hiding her face.

"Mr. Fitz!" Hanna greeted, feigning a surprise tone in her voice, "I can't believe it!"

With raised eyebrows, Ezra faked a reluctant smile, "Uh, hi." He squinted for a second and grinned widely as the light bulb above his head lit up, "Hanna Marin. How are you?"

Her face gleamed at the fact that he still remembered her, "Wonderful. And you? It's been so long. Rosewood misses you."

"Ah, the feelings are very much mutual." He let out a small smile and glanced at the table where they sat.

"Would you care to join us?" She turned and smiled at Caleb then at her friend, "Aria, look who it is. It's Mr. Fitz." She said playfully.

"Hi, Mr. Fitz." Aria forcefully said, licking her lips nervously.

"I think we can safely go on first name basis." He told her, "Seeing as you're not my student anymore." He explained with a controlled smile and a nod while Hanna watched their interaction.

Hanna gestured her hand to their table, "Please, sit with us."

"Uh…" Ezra sucked in a breath and looked down at Aria with a disapproving look on her face, "Absolutely." He said and smiled from ear-to-ear at Aria as he took the free seat right next to her.

"Caleb." He extended his hand toward Ezra, taking over the conversation now.

Almost half an hour had passed and Ezra kept an attentive look on his face as Hanna and Caleb chattered on about their life in the city and giving off comical anecdotes regarding it. Every now and then, Ezra would give off a casual nod and smile while Aria let out the same nervous chuckle each time someone cracked a joke although her posture never seemed to relax with Ezra still around.

Their waiter came with a water pitcher, ready to refill their glasses. With a casual smile plastered upon his face, Ezra took the opportunity to let his hand slip under the table and down to Aria's thigh, giving it a teasing squeeze.

Aria swallowed hard and shook off his hand by moving her thigh away. A few seconds later, Ezra's hand moved closer to her inner thigh causing her to give out a little cough.

"Sorry. Excuse me." She cleared her throat and reached for glass of water as the waiter walked away.

Caleb and Hanna exchanged glances and they knew they were brought back to their conversation earlier so in response, Hanna rolled her eyes and went back to the two people in front of her.

"I probably should get going." Ezra said, "You know, if you're both free, I'd love to see you at the party." He slowly smiled at Caleb and Hanna and saw them nodding already, "Speaking of, I gotta give my brother a call and inform him." He said, feeling Aria's ears perk up beside him as he got up from his seat.

"Ooo. I think you forgot to invite someone." Hanna said before letting Ezra walk off.

Ezra glanced at Hanna and saw her pointing at Aria, "Oh, of course, I thought that was a given…" He explained, "That invitation was meant for all of you." He said and offered Aria a smirk, "Well, duty calls. Good seeing you all." He finally said as Hanna kept her focus on him as he ambled away; her eyes checking up and down and seeing a familiar pair of men's shoes.

They stood outside the restaurant, waiting for Caleb to bring the car around rather than walking several blocks away.

"I'm really glad we did this." Hanna said with a warm smile, "And umm…" She pressed her lips together, "I'm really happy for you and Zach." She said, emphasizing his name.

Aria stopped herself from reacting but instead she kept a stoic expression, "And I'm happy for you and Caleb." She replied.

Tilting her head to the side, "Aria…" Hanna slowly let out and looked at her straight in the eyes, "He's a good guy. Don't let him go." She pointed out as she wrapped her arms around her, not allowing her to say anything else.

Shutting her eyes in shame, the girls both knew there was nothing else to say. Even with the years passing by and the distance between them growing, Aria had realized that Hanna was still the same; she remained to be the only person who had the ability to read her like an open book.

Ezra paced back and forth in the bedroom with the phone in his hand and a joint in the other. He practiced his lines in his head before punching in the phone number. To calm his foreign nerves, he took a puff of the blunt now and then.

Finally dialing the number, Ezra stood still and faced the window, waiting for someone to answer. After the third ring, Ezra heard nothing but silence and knew someone had picked up.

"Hello?" His voice jolted Ezra up. It sounded strange yet so familiar to him all of a sudden. And little by little, Ezra began to realize how right Aria was; how reconnecting with a family was very much needed and that his brother was the only one left in his life.

Ezra rubbed his forehead and started pacing again, "Zach?" He let out, "It's Ezra."


	12. Chapter 12

_**AJMcGough: What party are they talking about?**_

_**Ezra's birthday party. :)**_

* * *

"I'm really sorry. I can't make it." He said over the phone, "I'm sorry." He repeated with more remorse.

There were three different colored neckties laid out on his bed. Zach wasn't usually particular over little things, but tomorrow wasn't just another day. Soon, he would be reunited with a special someone and he made sure his impression was done right.

She laughed, covered her face with both hands, and rolled over, pressing her face flat on the bed. The bed shook a little and Aria turned her face to the side, taking a peek at him and saw him climbing out of bed.

"Where are you going?" She asked and pulled the blanket up, covering her naked body.

Ezra said nothing and just smiled before heading for the living room, tiptoeing his way through. Aria turned to the other side and looked out the window; nothing but black skies and other tall buildings across from theirs.

"Back." He said, pulling the covers off and softly climbed back into bed, creeping right on top of her. Aria remained on her stomach with her face turned to the side just so she could see. She felt his hand brushing her neck followed by something cold pressing against her skin.

"What are you doing?" She asked and tried to look at him.

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Do I?"

Ezra tilted his head and smiled at her. He then proceeded to move her hair to one side, "Got you something." He clasped the necklace and let it fall in front of her chest.

Smiling softly, Aria brought her hand up to touch the smooth oval-shaped necklace and realized it was a locket from the feel of the edges and the little lever, "I should be the one giving you a gift."

"I forbid you."

"From what?"

"I don't want you to get me anything. I mean it."

"You need a gift."

"Then consider this one as a gift for myself." He said and kissed her shoulder, "Or compensation for what happened today during lunch." He reminded her, making her laugh a little. Ezra leaned in closer and pressed his nose and mouth against her warm neck, smelling and kissing her all at once.

All of this had started to feel normal, a daily routine in his life. Falling asleep and waking up beside her, fighting and bantering then sharing a laughter right after it, and the sex was pretty self-explanatory. It became what he called a normal life, a complete one. From time to time, whenever he was away from her, Ezra imagined himself feeling lost for a while after her departure, when she goes back to her own life. But for now, her being here for the meantime was her gift to him.

His arm wrapped around her waist and in return, Aria raised herself a bit with her hand clutching onto the bed sheets. Her mouth parted and felt his fingers intertwining with hers as he took control over her and her body. Ezra leaned forward and nibbled on her neck as soft whimpers came out of her mouth each time he moved above her.

Propping herself on all fours, Aria bit down on her bottom lip as Ezra fully wrapped his forearm around her waist and his other hand knotting around her long, wavy hair.

"What do you think?" Melissa asked, trying on her new dress that she planned to wear for tonight. It was dark red with smooth fabric and its back swooped down almost reaching her overly exposed lower back.

"Hmm?" Spencer sat on the edge of the bed and watched on with a straight face.

"Spencer!" Melissa said, snapping her out of her trance, "You are not allowed to bring that gloomy-" She gestured at her sister, " ...You call yourself for my pre-engagement party!"

"I'm sorry." Spencer immediately answered, "It's a really _really_ nice dress." She said almost robotic.

Melissa rolled her eyes, "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I just have a lot of things going on."

"So nothing...just a lot of things?" Melissa remarked and squinted, "Is it boy trouble?"

Spencer feigned a chuckle and stood up, "I think we both know I'm too old to have boy troubles." The truth was there weren't any boy troubles. The one she wanted wasn't available and there was no trouble accepting that. She walked to Melissa,"I gotta say, the back of this dress will definitely win you a lot of attention."

"Then I must have put it on right." She gave a sly smile. They stood in front of the mirror, silently admiring the dress.

"Wait, can we backtrack for a second? Did I hear you say _pre-engagement _party?" Spencer asked with confusion written all over her face.

"Oh, if you think this is where I'm having my real engagement party then you don't know me at all." Melissa said as she turned around, admiring herself once again, "Wren and I are only doing this so Ezra doesn't have to be such a pain in the ass about his own party."

"And Wren is fully aware of this? That you're gonna have another engagement party?"

"No. But I don't have to tell him everything, do I?"

Spencer chuckled, "Can't wait to see how this marriage turns out."

Scoffing, Melissa rolled her eyes at her, "Oh be quiet. Zip me up, will you?"

The lunch was small; they thought it'd be a better idea to avoid eating too much right before the party which was approaching faster than they had expected.

Aria saw him lying down on the couch with a book in his hand, unwinding for just a little bit. She leaned against the couch across from him and took a long look at him. It was rather admiring to see someone giving such little care for such a special day. Aria wanted to believe this was him being modest. Sure, he was confident perhaps a little too much on certain occasions, but Aria knew that he was never self-centered.

"I know I'm stunning, but the staring has got to stop. You're distracting me from my reading." Ezra jested, not taking his face away from the book.

And there it was. Aria rolled her eyes at his comment, "Ezra?" She started as she ambled her way to him.

"Aria?" He finally put his book down and was greeted by her little body straddling him.

"How in the world do you still have this picture of us?" She questioned while grabbing her necklace, "It's been years. I would have thought you would have thrown it out by now."

Ezra brought his hands around her waist, "Why would I throw it out?"

"It's from the past." She shrugged nonchalantly. Why was she talking about this? Aria mentally cursed herself for a moment. Why couldn't she just accept a nice gift from a nice man?

Sighing softly, he pursed his lips, "I have the capability to be nostalgic, believe it or not. And I happen to like my past." He told her, "You were in it too, remember?"

She shook her head, clearly not in the mood to get sappy, but instead she pressed on, "Speaking of your past, you haven't told me a lot about it. Certain essential bits and pieces of it."

They shifted their position for a second, trying to get more comfortable as they both anticipated a real talk about his life.

"Well, you'll see a part of it tonight, won't you?"

"Right." She arched her eyebrows, "Fitz number two." She leaned down and pressed her chin against his chest as her smile stayed plastered on her face.

"No, no, no, I'm a Fitz. He's not." He said solidly as if it was a huge honor to be a Fitz.

Aria furrowed her brow and lifted her head up, "I don't understand..." She tilted her head, "You told me you both had the same father."

With a heaving sigh, Ezra carefully sat up with her, "We did." He pressed his lips together and glanced across the room.

He placed the train ticket inside his shirt pocket then flicked down his sunglasses to shield his eyes away the glaring sun. Zach wanted to be in New York a few hours early. The plan was to check into a hotel, leave his belongings, reconsider the gift he had already bought for his older half-brother and hope to find a more fitting one in the city, and ultimately give a decent impression at the party.

Zach took out his phone and browsed through his contacts. He pondered for a second and felt ashamed for flat out lying to Spencer about not coming to New York. His only fear was bumping into her in the city, but what were the odds of that happening tonight?

"I was so angry with him." He told her as she lightly held his hands, "But it's funny in a way...because I was just a little boy when he left. You know, I thought he had just gone out to buy something. My mother kept telling me that. But growing up made me realize what he did and that was when the anger really set in."

"It must have been horrible for your mother." Aria chimed in and pictured her own family. What if Byron had run away with another woman who was carrying his child?

Ezra shook his head, "No, my mother was a little more gallant about it. I think she just felt bad for the other woman." He told her, "I tried rebelling against him in whatever ways I could, but she wouldn't let me. She just kept telling me that he was still my father and that I still needed to show a little respect. I mean, he moved to California with the woman he slept with. What was there to respect?"

"Right." She said, nodding along.

"So I thought the least I could do was to not be him as much as possible. That's when I decided I'd change my name, his last name when I was old enough to. But in the back of my head, I could picture my mother giving me that disappointing look just like a parent would. Anyway, that's how the Fitz came about." He explained, "I guess I_ half-rebelled_." He joked, hoping to lighten up the mood.

"So, you're not even really a Mr. Fitz, are you?"

"I am now."

"Who were you then?"

"Fitzgerald."

Aria softly laughed through her nostrils and scooted away from him for a second, "Life's funny." She said under her breath.

"Tell me about it." He said with a tight smile and stretched his arms. He got up from the couch and turned to look at her, "I can't wait for you to meet him. You'll like Zach."

Her face froze then almost immediately, she was fuming with anger particularly towards him, "That's not funny." She stood up, "You think that's funny?"

"Uhh..." Ezra kept still in front of her, just as puzzled as she was, "What's funny?"

"Zach? Zach Fitzgerald?"

"Sounds familiar to you?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Aria sneered at him, "You're such an asshole, Ezra." She clenched her jaw, "I know you enjoy poking fun at this situation, but I didn't think you'd stoop this low just to crack some jokes." Aria moved towards him, hitting his shoulder against hers as she walked past him, "You know, I actually believed your sob story."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Ezra grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "What the hell are you talking about? First of all, you're the one who wanted to know about my past and I open up to you and you fucking call it a sob story?" Now it was his turn to be angry.

"You have no right to bring him into this." She retorted, pulling her wrist back, "You know how I feel when you mention him!"

"Him? Him who, Aria? Your boyfriend? I wasn't-" Ezra paused and stared at her, "Aria, you never even mentioned to me his name."

"What are you saying?" She breathed heavily and locked her eyes with his as they shared a shocking revelation together.

The tables went around in a rectangle, sitting at least fifty guests. Emily checked her notebook to see how many were actually attending. It wasn't a small party, but it wasn't going to be a royal dinner either. Some of the names she read on the list were also the people she knew. Ezra kept a particularly small amount of mutual and personal friends and barely any relatives for his party. On the other hand, it was mostly Wren and Melissa's friends who took all the space on the list.

Emily fixed the utensils and took a breath, "Why am I doing this? This isn't my job." She frantically whispered to herself and went back to the kitchen with the other staff members who were preparing the food and catering.

The workers were panicked and the air was humid and unbelievably thick from all the smoke inside.

Emily looked around and saw the mess before her. They had only a few more hours until the party and already things were not going as planned.

Aria threw in her clothes inside her luggage. Pacing back and forth, Ezra huffed a frustrated breath.

"So that's it? You're just gonna run away from this?" He said, making her look up for a moment, "Just like what you do with all your other problems." He threw his hands.

She gritted her teeth and finally got up to him, "This isn't a problem, Ezra." She countered, "This is a fucking catastrophe waiting to happen."

"Then I'll take care of it. You don't have to pack up and go." He wet his lips, "Can't you stay for a bit so we can have this sorted out?"

"What is there to sort out?" She retreated back to her bag and hastily slammed down on it, shutting it tightly, "He's your brother! There is nothing left to sort out." She pulled the bag up and gazed at him.

"See, this is what happens when you fucking meddle with someone else's life!" Ezra bellowed out furiously. He put his hand on his waist, quickly regretting what he had just said, "Why couldn't we just put off this fight for tomorrow? You can't leave now." He said with a pleading voice. He hated sounding like a child throwing a tantrum but as of now, he was willing to do anything to make her stay.

"Why? Give me one good reason why."

"It's my birthday. You owe me at least that."

She stood up and moved closer to him, "I don't owe you anything." She watched him run his hand over his face with great distress, "I'm sorry, Ezra. About everything. I am." She sighed deeply, "But you said it yourself-" She swallowed hard, "It was just sex. Wasn't it?"

With clenched fists, he didn't move from his spot. It had felt like a slap to the face just hearing her say those words - his own stupid words. He didn't expect for it to backfire. He didn't really expect a lot of things perhaps if he did, things would hurt less.

Ezra inhaled deeply and kept quiet. He admitted to himself that perhaps their mindless sex had turned into something bigger and unexpected, but it seemed that Aria had been looking at it differently. He couldn't help feeling partly at fault for her thinking that.

She lifted her bag and took a few steps closer, "You and I both knew this wasn't going to last." She licked her lips and began to shake her head at him, "It wasn't supposed to."

"Relax, Em. Don't wanna pull a muscle now, do we?" Wren said with a charming smile. He took a good look around the restaurant. White napkins, white plates, polished silverware, everything was elegant and tranquil.

"You know me." She replied regarding her perfectionism, "Plus, it's your party and Ezra's. That's-" She released a sharp breath, "Big..." She widened her eyes for a second, "And you guys happen to be my friends. It's like triple the effort and I have to-"

He raised his hand at her as though to stop her from talking, "Emily. Everything looks good to me." He walked to the long table and touched the folded napkins, "And I'm quite positive that Ezra couldn't care less about how nicely these napkins are folded." He raised the napkin and wiggled it for her with an assuring smile.

The two turned their head towards the door and saw Ezra storming in. He was wearing a black blazer with a plain white v-neck under it and dark trousers.

"Speak of the devil. Don't you look nice?" Emily said to Ezra who forced a smile as he approached them, "I gotta take care of a few more things. Happy birthday, honey." She leaned in and kissed his cheek then gave his arm a friendly squeeze before walking off.

"You're a couple of hours early." Wren stated and watched him walk back and forth, unsure of what he wanted to do.

"I know when it starts, Wren. Would you just be quiet for a second?"

Wren cocked his head back, "What's gotten your panties in a bunch?" He walked over to Ezra who was now sitting down and rubbing the side of his head, "Listen, turning 30 isn't a big deal. It's just a bump along the road. Try and have fun tonight, will ya?"

It was easy for his friend to say, but it had only been an hour and a half since he last fought with her. Now, he had no idea where she went off nor if she was coming back at all, but one thing he was sure of - the night was spoiled.

Ezra looked up at the door and saw the Hastings sisters walking in. Wren followed his eyes and drew his head back, surprised for a moment.

"Why is everyone coming in so early?" Wren exclaimed, "Are you all not aware of being fashionably late?" His voice going up higher with his thick British accent.

"Is that a way to welcome my sister?" Melissa retorted while proceeding towards the men, "And what are you doing here?" She asked, her eyes narrowing on Ezra.

"Am I not invited?" He snapped back and stood up to give her a peck on the cheek, "Hello." He turned to Spencer, "So, you _do_ exist." He said to Spencer who smiled shyly in return. They had only heard of each other through Wren and Melissa. Thinking about it, it was a wonder how they kept being strangers for so long.

"I heard it was your birthday so happy birthday." She showed a medium sized velvet box, almost the size of her palm.

"Ah, thank you very much. Did Melissa put you up to this? " He said while taking the box. He assumed it to be a new silver watch. He had seen many boxes like this before so he knew it was either a watch or a gigantic engagement ring and he highly doubted Spencer was proposing to him tonight.

With arms crossed above her chest, Melissa let out a scoffing chuckle, "Oh please, I wouldn't get you flowers for your funeral."

"She's sweet, isn't she?" Ezra smiled at Spencer. The people around him almost made him forget about her and why he was such in a sour mood just a few moments ago. Ezra quietly agreed and took Wren's advice - it was his special night, why ruin it?

"The sweetest." Spencer played along and nodded with a grin.

She tipped her head back and soon flopped herself back on the bed. She didn't expect to come back to the same hotel, but things had turned upside down. Her phone began to ring and Aria, with a soft sigh, sat back up again and stared at her bag. Reaching for it, she found her phone. Hanna Marin.

"Not now, please." She whispered to herself as the phone kept ringing for the third time. Aria already knew what Hanna wanted to talk about. If it wasn't an emergency, Hanna would have ended at the third ring, but it kept ringing.

Aria huffed through her nostrils and answered it, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hi! Okay, so I was thinking, for the sake of avoiding awkwardness, would you be able to meet up with us before Ezra's party?"

"Uhh, the thing is I can't make it tonight..."

"What? Why? Aria, I've already picked out a dress and everything."

Closing her eyes, Aria rubbed her forehead, "You can still go, you know? We're not joined at the hips, Han."

"But I was only invited because of you. You know that so don't try and deny it." Hanna argued, "Please, I was really looking forward to this."

"I can't." She said solidly and could hear Hanna sighing softly, quietly giving in.

"Well, alright. Good thing I haven't taken off the tag of this dress." She joked, hiding her disappointment.

"Hanna, don't do that." Aria would have let out a frustrated breath but Hanna seemed to have taken that department.

"I haven't."

"I wasn't talking about the tag. I mean, don't try and guilt me into feeling bad for you."

"That's not what I'm doing." She defended, "Okay, I was. Fine."

"So, you're going?"

"Whatever." Her voice in mid-bluff again.

Aria rolled her eyes. This was getting tiring and obnoxious to hear, she bit her lower lip and huffed, "Hanna, we're not in high school anymore for fuck's sake." She said and touched her forehead lightly, regretting so many things.

"Wow." Hanna said over the phone, "Who are you and what have you done to my sweet friend?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just having a really rough day. Listen, you're going to the party." She demanded weakly, "Will you please go...for me, okay? That way you can tell me all about it tomorrow morning or something." She said, trying to lighten up the tone of her voice. But in truth, she had no desire of hearing how the party went whatsoever.

"Only if you're going." Hanna added, standing her ground like she always did in their friendship.

The tiny bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Zach took a deep anxious breath in and slowly released it.

"Just the weather." He whispered, attempting to convince himself as to why he was pouring sweat. He walked to the air conditioning controller and turned it on as high as possible. This hotel room was rather stuffy and humid, but he ignored that since he wasn't staying long in here anyway.

He put his palms up before him and noticed that they were getting clammy too. Shaking his head vigorously now, "What am I doing?"

He questioned his doubt for a while, battling two opposing ideas. He felt obliged to go to his long lost half brother but part of him wanted to go to Spencer. She was a better friend, he thought and being in a room full of strangers at her party wouldn't be as blundering as it would be if he were to go to Ezra's instead.

"Bad idea. Bad idea." Zach muttered to himself as he walked back to his luggage to grab his phone.

Ezra checked his watch. One more hour. The restaurant had gotten a lot quieter after Wren and Melissa bailed to meet her parents before going to the party. This left Ezra and Spencer who excused herself to the bathroom, all to themselves and he wouldn't have minded before, but the silence was making him think of the things he should not be thinking about right this moment, about her specifically.

The door clicked open and Ezra lifted his eyes. His mouth slightly parted and within a split-second, he was standing on his feet, fully alarmed by her appearance.

"First, I want you to know that I'm not staying." She said softly as they approached each other, "But I just couldn't bear the idea of doing this to someone on their birthday."

"Okay..." Ezra nodded - quietly thanking her conscience.

"That's why I've decided that I'm going to tell Zach the truth."

Ezra furrowed his brow, "What is the truth?"

"...That I was only invited to this party because you were my high school teacher." She told him, awaiting his reaction.

"Okay..." He stepped closer to her, "Good enough." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her head.

Aria rested her head against his chest then pulled back to look at him once again. With a slight smile, Ezra dipped his head and cupped her face for a kiss.

"Oo, sorry." Her voice sounding out of the blue, "Am I interrupting this lovely moment?"

Swiftly pulling back, Aria glanced at Spencer across the room then lowered her eyes nervously hiding her face away from the stranger. She really wished Ezra had told her that they were not alone.

Ezra turned around and smiled at her, "You are, but you're forgiven." He grinned, "I don't think you two have met." He pulled Aria aside letting his hand touch her lower back.

"Right, no, we haven't." Spencer ambled her way to them.

"Aria, this is Melissa's sister, Spencer."

Without a choice, Aria raised her head to face Spencer, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." She replied with a friendly grin, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend." She said to Ezra, "A gorgeous one while we're at it." Spencer added causing Aria to give off a nervous little laugh.

"Well, I didn't know you really existed until an hour ago."

Spencer squinted, "I suppose we're even."

"I suppose we are." Ezra smiled crookedly.

Aria glanced back and forth, watching this banter. She didn't know if they were flirting but it was starting to make her feel a little bit uneasy and Ezra's hand on her back was not helping.

The tables quickly filled up and the restaurant was starting to feel smaller and smaller. Aria stayed beside Ezra, feeling almost like a misfit. Normally, she would not have had any struggles with meeting new people, but her affair with Ezra had put quite a weight on her shoulders - the only thing that was missing was an expletive stamp on her forehead for everyone to see.

"I think I'm gonna sit down for a moment." She whispered to him.

Ezra turned to her and examined her face, "You alright?"

"Yeah." She answered and hesitated for second, "I'm fine." She added, forcing a small smile.

"Hey..." He reached for her arm, "I know we're both dreading the moment, but there's nothing to worry about. If he's here then he's here and everything's gonna be fine. I promise you." He told her, placing his hand on her back again, "Here, I'll sit with you. I need a break anyway."

"No, go out there and talk to your friends. You don't have to be with me all the time."

"But I want to." He told her.

She tiptoed for a second, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Happy birthday, Ezra." She said against his face as if she was bidding him her last farewell.

Spencer smiled to herself as she watched Ezra and Aria just several feet away from her. Her eyes danced across the room, skimming the unfamiliar smiling faces. Her eyes suddenly got larger as she saw him with his perfect blonde hair parted to one side, a simple black skinny tie partnered with a white dress shirt, and he was reluctantly standing in the doorway with a gift in his hand.

She got up from her seat and proceeded her way to him, "Zach?" She shouted excitedly at him, their eyes finally meeting over the crowd of people.

Zach creased his eyebrows at her, wondering what the hell she was doing here. Then all of a sudden, he felt someone grabbing and patting his shoulder right beside him.

"I'm glad you made it." Ezra said and sized him up. He didn't expect him to look so adult-like. Zach glanced to his side and saw Spencer stopping in her tracks to observe them with a scowl on her face.

"It's you." Zach breathed out and forced a smile, "Can't believe it." He wiped his forehead with the back of his head, "Here, this is..." He glanced behind him and saw her face, "For you." He handed the gift to Ezra while keeping his full attention on her, "Aria?" He narrowed his eyes on her. She was sitting by herself with a drink in front of her.

Ezra turned around, following his brother while taking a preparatory breath for what was to come.

All the while, it felt like time stood still for her. Spencer watched on and saw Zach approaching Aria's table. The excitement in her turned into something heavy and burning. Too many things were going on and now the burning became even more apparent as Zach and Aria came together for a tight and long embrace.

"Aria..." Zach said, tightening his grip around her even more, "What the hell are you doing here? You had me worried sick." Although it had been only two weeks, it seemed ages to him and the way she looked now, he couldn't even imagine the things would do to her right this moment.

Aria pressed her lips together as she saw Ezra standing across from them with a small, controlled smile on his face, "Zach, I-" She tried to compose her voice, wanting it to sound as genuinely surprise as possible.

"You know what, it doesn't matter. You're here. That's all I need to know." Zach rambled on and pulled back. He gazed at her, his eyes fully gleaming at her presence and quickly leaned in, surprising her with a tender kiss that seemed to last forever.

Shutting her eyes at the affectionate sight, Spencer bit her lips and turned around, heading for the bathroom.

"Sorry, I just need to catch up. You two know each other?" Zach asked, his hand wrapped around Aria's waist.

Aria placed her hand on his chest, "Ezra...was my English teacher back in Rosewood."

"You make me feel so old." Ezra quipped and gave her a comforting smile.

Chuckling, Zach pulled Aria closer to him, "Because you are." He advanced forward, tapping his chest playfully.

"I have to go to the ladies' room." Aria chimed in and smoothly pulled herself apart from his hold, "I won't be long."

Washing her face with cold water, Spencer leaned against the bathroom sink and turned her head at the sound of the door opening.

Aria paused for a second, seeing Spencer's face looking sickly and red, "Hey, are you alright?" She hurriedly walked to her.

Backing away, Spencer glared at her, "Don't touch me." She snapped, "Don't ever touch me."

A pang of shock shot throughout her body, Aria took a step back, baffled at Spencer's sudden hostility.

A moment later, after wiping her face dry, Spencer walked to her with dominance, "You're disgusting." She said, looking down at her.

Aria swallowed hard and read Spencer's face, her eyes gradually getting wider, "I never planned on pursuing this." She explained, knowing that they were both on the same page now.

"You don't deserve him." Spencer shook her head, "People like you don't deserve anything." She added with a sneer then a few beats later, she scoffed and turned to leave.

Frozen in her tracks, Aria blinked continuously, preventing herself from breaking down. It was the same embarrassment, the same loss of pride that took place whenever someone caught you in your lies, but for Aria, this felt much worse. She thought for a moment, really wishing she had gotten a simple literal slap to the face. She knew it would have done less damage but Spencer's words stuck to her, echoing endlessly inside her head.

Stepping outside the restaurant, Zach saw her smoking a cigarette alone.

"I didn't know you were going to be here." Zach said as he ambled to her. "What a crazy coincidence."

"Not really." Spencer answered bitterly.

"I didn't know you smoke."

"I don't." Spencer looked at him from the corner of her eyes then threw her cigarette away despising its horrible taste.

Looking at her questioningly, Zach quietly nodded. She was different, darker. Was she angry with him for lying? He would assume so. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I lied, I know. I just didn't think we'd be in the same-"

"Zach, trust me, you've done nothing wrong." Spencer reassured, "I'm happy that you're here even if it wasn't for me." She turned to face him and stared right through his blue eyes. She wasn't going to be the person to tell him the truth, not that she didn't want to, but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle seeing those soft eyes after revealing everything because she knew it would be two hearts breaking, not just his.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked as Spencer continued to stare.

"Only if you forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?" Zach scrunched his face.

Spencer moved towards him, grabbing his face for a hard kiss. Their lips were slightly dry and chapped from the cold, but Spencer continued on with her hand touching the back of his head.

He let the kiss go on for a few seconds then he stepped back, "I can't. I really can't." He bit his lower lip, "I just got her back. She's inside and-" He shrugged lightly, "And we're happy." He sighed.

"Are you?" She crossed her arms above her chest.

Zach nodded, "I'm so sorry, Spence. I can't do that to her."

"But you already have." She countered as he gave her a quizzical look, "You haven't told her the truth. The truth about the night we met." She let her arms free again, "How her dad and her brother shouldn't have gotten into an accident in the first place."

"Spencer, I-"

"I'm not putting the blame on you. Believe me." Spencer continued, "But how can you say you're happy knowing you've been hiding something that dark from her?"

Turning away, Zach put his hands inside his pockets. Right before going back inside, he turned around to face her again, "You're right."

"Ezra!" Someone shouted from the end table. Everyone was gathered around, eating and continued on with their little toasts and speeches and now they were forcing Ezra to make one, saving the best for last.

Aria sat next to Zach with Ezra just across from them. The Hastings sisters sat together with Wren beside Ezra. Everything felt like an illusion. Aria tried her best to ignore Spencer's little glances knowing how uneasy they made her feel.

Each person had their own little secret, starting from Aria's affair, to Zach's quiet intimate friendship with Spencer, Hanna's knowledge of her friend's infidelity, and everyone else's oblivion to everything. As much as they hated to admit it, the night was made of little tacit lies.

"Alright. Alright." Ezra gracefully took a stand, raising his glass of wine, "Let me start off by saying the term "falling" in love is..." He winced, "Being an English teacher, this sort of bugs me because falling, _falling_...it gives off a negative connotation, don't you think so? It just sounds painful and that's not what tonight is all about. So I say, nothing makes me happier to see my two lovely friends _growing_ in love and hopefully, growing old in love." He smiled at the newly engaged couple beside him.

"Thanks, mate." Wren said, cutting in.

"I'm not finished." Ezra said, making people chuckle softly, "In addition to that, I wanted to say...don't let anything or anybody take away what you two have built for each other. And no matter what comes your way, never forget to return to your years of memories that you've made together. Because nothing can take that away from you. Not even friends, not even families."

Aria took a side glance and swallowed hard. Zach noticed her squirming so he took her hand and smiled reassuringly at her.

"-Do what feels right because tonight and for the rest of your life, it's about you two and nobody else." His eyes landed on Aria as he finished his line, "Before this speech turns mushier than I intended it to be, I just want to congratulate and wish you two the best of the best. Nobody deserves it more." He slowly sat down but stood up again, "Oh, I almost forgot the most important part of this speech, happy birthday to me. You can leave the presents at that table over there." He joked and pointed at the little corner with all the gifts piled up.

"You're such a tool." Melissa remarked with a wide grin on her face and her hand brushing Ezra's forearm; her most subtle yet genuine way of thanking him.

One by one, the party had simmered down, boiling down to close friends then to close families.

Aria saw Zach and Spencer saying their goodbyes. She had her suspicion about the two, but there really was no point in it. Right about now, she wouldn't mind if Zach decided to sleep with another woman even if that woman was Spencer. It would sting for a moment, of course, but one little sting was no comparison to what she had done for the past two weeks. She kept watching as Spencer leaned in, kissing his cheek.

"You know where to reach me." Spencer whispered to him before walking out of the restaurant.

"Hey you." Ezra approached her table, "...This was something, wasn't it?" He said regarding how the night had turned out.

Aria fluttered her eyes up at him, "I just want it to be over." She sighed, "I just want everything back to normal. I want us to be normal."

"Oh, Aria-" He smiled, "There is absolutely nothing normal about us." He remarked, making her laugh. They sat quietly for a moment, "So, what's the plan? Are you two going back tonight or..."

She rubbed her eyes from exhaustion, "We're staying at the hotel for the night and taking off in the morning."

"I could drop you guys off at the grand terminal."

"You really don't have to."

"I'd like to." He nodded at her, "It's the least I could do. For him...anyway." They glanced at Zach who was shaking Wren's hand.

"Hmm." She commented as she watched Zach for a while. "Did you make a wish?" She asked shifting her head back to him, "Or are you too old for traditions?"

He laced his hands and put them on the table, "I doubt it's coming true." He held her eyes unwillingly to look at anything else. Her hazel eyes were large and weary now while her mouth was in a form of a slight frown. Even while looking displeased, Ezra still found her to be quite a beauty.

"We should probably head back." Zach announced as he walked to their table, "I still need to call a cab."

"Yeah, if you're lucky to get one at this hour. I'll drive you two back." Ezra stood up and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, "I insist."

He had explained the plan for tomorrow morning and Zach complied - not that he had any other choices. He would have spent more time with him, stayed in the city for a couple of days, but his job back in Rosewood had only allowed him to leave for a day.

"Drive safe, okay?" Zach leaned in, half way in through the passenger's window, "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Ezra replied and saw the couple coming in together, holding each other tightly. He could only imagine what they were going to do right before they go to bed. An inevitable reunion. The unpleasant image in his head crept in and Ezra locked his jaw tight, driving off in a flash.

Aria climbed into bed as he waited patiently for her to settle herself. Zach stretched his arm out as she moved up, lying against his forearm.

Dipping his head, Zach pulled her closer and kissed her slowly, "Aria, can we talk for a little bit? I just need to tell you something." He muttered.

Her hand went up to his chest and hesitantly pulled back, "I'm exhausted." She told him in a light husky voice, "Can we do this some other time?" She forced a smile.

Nodding once, he flashed a soft smile, "Okay." Zach said and gave her forehead a goodnight kiss before she shifted her body, turning her back to him.

The silence felt foreign to him all over again. The lights were dim and the atmosphere gave off a stale and depressing aura perhaps that was just him thinking all of this.

Ezra walked all the way to his bedroom, carelessly throwing himself on the bed. Sleep everything off; that always seemed to work well when things weren't going his way.

The Amtrak train was scheduled for 9 o'clock which allowed them to have about five hours of sleep. Zach folded his dress shirt and neatly placed it back inside his luggage. He crossed the room and opened the window blinds, letting the sun in.

"Aria, hurry up a bit. Ezra will be downstairs in about ten minutes." He informed her as she finished her morning shower.

Zach turned on the television checking the news. He raised his eyebrows and heard her calling for him through the door.

"Yeah?" He responded and turned off the television.

"I forgot my towel. Can you get it for me? It's near the dresser I think."

He looked around and saw her bag and a small heap of dirty clothes on top of the wooden drawer, "Coming." He walked over and grabbed the white towel. He noticed her wristwatch, some earrings, a ring, and a locket necklace messily thrown altogether. From what he could recall, he bought all of those for her on certain occasions and events except for the necklace.

He glanced back to check if she stepped out of the bathroom already. Curiously, Zach touched the locket and opened it with ease. He sucked in his bottom lip realizing that Aria had her own sets of secret while he had his.

Zach could hear the voice from the back of his head telling him to let it go. She was with him now; there was absolutely no need to bring up the past.

"Zach, the towel! I'm freezing in here!" Aria shouted through the door.

Ezra drummed on the steering wheel as he waited right outside the hotel building. He saw the two walking out with their luggage bags and new morning energy.

"Hey you two." Ezra greeted as they got in the car, "Breakfast?"

"Umm, actually we can't." Zach said.

Aria looked at him, "Why not?"

"The train leaves at 9." He explained, "It's already 8:15."

"You're the boss." Ezra calmly said and adjusted the rearview mirror, stealing a glance at her.

As they got closer to the station, Ezra felt something twisting tighter in him. The same feeling when you're swimming to the bottom of the ocean and feeling your ears and chest closing up gradually. He waited a few feet behind them as the couple bought their tickets.

"I haven't been in this place in such a long time. I've forgotten how much I loved it." Aria commented, looking up at the tall, broad ceiling with green background and the Zodiac signs painted on it. Then she looked down and saw the golden four-faced clock on the center of the station. Fifteen more minutes before their train. She skimmed the pool of faces and already knew she was going to miss this place.

"All set." Zach said and led the way as Aria followed close by and Ezra slowly staying behind them.

As they entered the designated track, Ezra stopped walking and watched them, "I think this is my stop." He said with a wavering smile.

Zach approached him, "I guess we'll see each other some other time." He studied his older brother for a moment and came in for a hug, "It was good seeing you." He tore himself from him and walked back to Aria who stayed in the same spot, a few feet away from them, "Ready to go?" Zach asked.

"You go ahead and get us a seat. I'll just say goodbye to Ezra." Her eyes smiled at Zach, hoping to convince him.

Reluctantly, Zach took a wary glance at the two of them before taking her bag and heading toward the end of the cemented path.

With his hands inside his pocket, Ezra took a deep breath as she ambled closer. He pressed his lips together, not letting a word come out of his mouth.

Aria took a long good look at his face then finally walking closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as he returned the hug. He touched the back of her head while her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck. She pulled back and cleared her throat. Another silence from him. "Say something." She pleaded, "Please."

"You lost." He uttered.

Aria lowered her eyebrows, "I did?" She asked playing along.

"It was cumin." He reminded her of their cooking class which seemed ages ago.

Throwing her head back along with a laugh, "Did you ever think that maybe I lost on purpose?" She smiled slyly.

Evidently impressed, Ezra licked his lips and despised everything about this even more, seeing more clearly what a great loss he was about to face, "Why did you?"

She shrugged lightly, "Winning isn't always fun." She told him, not sure if they were still talking about the same thing now, "People get a lot more from losing, don't they?"

He nodded although he didn't agree completely, not right this moment anyway, "You're going to miss your train." He said cocking his head toward the train and diverting their talk.

She nodded and slowly turned, heading to where Zach stood just outside the door, waiting for her.

"Good to go?" Zach asked as she got closer enough to hear. He cocked his head out glancing over her head and saw Ezra standing in the same spot, waiting for their train to leave. Aria offered Zach an affirmative smile.

Zach carefully grabbed her arm as they stepped away from the door with their bags to his side. Aria looked up at him a bit puzzled.

_I love you. Don't ever doubt that. _He thought about this, feeling the urge to say it but something held him back from doing so. Aria glanced to her side and saw Ezra still watching perhaps in curiosity, but she was glad that he was still there. She turned back to Zach and waited for him to say something.

"I love you." Zach said after mustering up some strength.

Aria studied his face and nodded quietly, "I love you too."

They shared a smile - a sort of agreement yet they looked at each other, fully aware of what they had left out from their ritual, their promise muttered in words. Somewhere along their separation, it had gotten lost and neither of them were sure if they even wanted to search for it again.

Zach tilted his head to the side, quietly wondering what was going to happen next. Aria sighed deeply and tiptoed to kiss him. She pulled back and locked eyes with him.

"Okay." Zach said breaking the silence. A stalemate, he thought. He nodded submissively and looked to his side where Ezra was now budging a bit from his stillness, questioning why they were still not boarding the train, "Okay." He said once again before facing her.

Reaching for his arm, Aria let one final sigh escape from her mouth before speaking, "Zach..."

* * *

_**Yes, that's the last chapter. Believe or not. **_

_**I will add a "chapter" for commentaries, and answer questions, comments angry or not, if you guys have any.**_

**- Queen**


End file.
